23rd November 2005, 10:26 AM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by Arthus
Yes any proper study of ploughing would have to involve talking to present and past farmers. I met one recently who found a Romano-British village with his plough and then called in the archaeologists.
There is surely a case for preventing ploughing (and Quarries) near sites such as Henges; at the very least until it is certain that all the archaeology that can be found has been recorded.
At the moment government/Eu is funding all sorts of schemes to pay farmers not to farm (returning land to wetlands, set-aside, tree planting etc). I suspect that some New Labour type might jump at the chance to cut production whilst doing something with a 'feel-good factor', but the wheels of government move slowly and I won't hold my breath.
Arthus
Read up on the new Environmental Stewardship schemes, and old Countryside Stewardship schemes. Both can give money to farm land in a way that stops or reduces damage to archaeological sites.
On another point, one of the major problems in modern farming is the compaction of the soil by heavy machinery which causes the plough to effectively go slightly deeper with every ploughing session in some areas. However most farmers understand the processes and try and avoid them.