The Till-Tweed Project was designed to enhance understanding of a large river valley through archaeological and palaeoenvironmental analysis. As the name suggests, the Till-Tweed Project was based around the reaches of the two rivers, the Till and the Tweed in north Northumberland. The project was funded through the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund distributed by English Heritage. It was a collaboration between ARS Ltd and Newcastle University.
The project contained four fieldwork strands which were combined to produce an in-depth landscape history. These included geoarchaeological evaluation including the use of Lidar data to provide accurate mapping of the valley, as well as assist field survey and sediment coring; transcription of aerial photographic evidence for accurate mapping of upstanding archaeology, and buried sites showing as crop and soil marks; fieldwalking and test-pitting to obtain flint tools so as to characterise Stone-Age activity across the study area; and finally public outreach and education work which included fieldwork participation and training for schools and colleges, and the production of popular books, information panels and guided walks for visitors and residents.
The key outcome of this ambitious project was the integration of all the accumulated archaeological and geological data into a digital geographic information system (GIS), creating a powerful research and planning guidance tool.
For more information see:
- Passmore, D., C. Waddington and T. van der Schriek. (in prep). Geoarchaeology and archaeological landscapes in the River Till and Lower Tweed valleys, northern England. Antiquity
- Waddington, C. and Passmore, D. (forthcoming). Slope Process and Artifact Scatters: a Framework for Characterization and Analysis. Geoarchaeology