Options for Historic and Landscape Features
Archaeological sites, traditional buildings, and designed landscapes such as parkland, give the countryside its local character and interest, as well as providing a record of human activity over centuries. Changes in agriculture have damaged or destroyed many of these features or resulted in their dereliction. Beneficial management can protect these important sites and help to retain and enhance the distinctive and varied character of the countryside.
Before considering these options, please look carefully at your Environmental Information Map, which has been supplied by RDS. This may show some of the historic features on your farm. If you are aware of additional features, you must also mark these on your Farm Environment Record map and label them, including listed and unlisted traditional buildings. You can obtain further information and guidance from a leaflet entitled 'Farming the Historic Landscape: Entry Level Stewardship'. This leaflet is available from www.helm.org.uk
If you have historic features (including archaeological sites and traditional farm buildings) on your farm, you must meet the relevant scheme conditions detailed at section 5.6 of this handbook. If you wish to carry out works other than those specified in the measures below which affect Scheduled Monuments, you must consult English Heritage.
Protection of archaeological features
Archaeological features, both individual sites such as barrows, settlement sites or hill forts, and more extensive landscape features such as ridge and furrow and ancient field systems, are often our only record of past human activity. They cannot be replaced and, once destroyed, are gone forever. Cultivation can be particularly destructive. Taking these features out of cultivation is an essential step in conserving them for present and future generations to see and understand.
Please note that it is a requirement of joining ELS that you protect historic features (including archaeological sites and traditional farm buildings - see section 5.6).
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ED2 Take archaeological features currently on cultivated land out of cultivation
For this option you must:
- Take archaeological sites on land which is currently being cultivated out of cultivation.
- Choose a boundary which encompasses the site and provides a sensible and practical field division where necessary. This may be on the whole or part of the field where the archaeological feature is, depending on what is practical on your farm.
- The area can be sown or left to regenerate, and you must then carry out the following management:
- Do not plough or re-seed.
- Manage the area as permanent grassland by grazing or mowing.
- Maintain a continuous grass sward and do not allow bare patches of soil to develop (for example, by considering carefully the regular routing and rotation of stock movements, and gathering points such as water troughs).
- Do not supplementary feed, or site water troughs, on or next to the archaeological site.
- Prevent scrub development.
- Minimise the use of heavy vehicles on the site, particularly in wet weather, to prevent damage caused by wheel rutting and compaction.
- Do not tip or dump any material on the site.
- Avoid obvious earthworks if harrowing and rolling.
ED2, 460 points per ha
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ED3 Reduce cultivation depth on land where there are archaeological features
Where removal of sites from cultivation cannot be achieved within the management of your farm, reducing cultivation depth is a 'next-best' option. Shallow cultivation reduces the risk of damage to archaeological sites on farmland. This option may be applied to the whole, or part, of the field where the archaeological feature is, depending on what is practical on your farm.
For this option you must:
- Avoid deep soil disturbance by using shallow cultivations (i.e. a maximum depth of 10 cm (4 inches)) or no-till practices.
- Do not sub-soil or mole-plough.
- Do not use machinery under conditions likely to cause rutting or compaction.
- Do not grow root crops, maize or energy crops.
- If sowing a spring crop, maintain the previous over-wintered stubble until 14 February.
- The area must not be used as farm access.
ED3, 60 points per ha
ED4 Management of scrub on archaeological sites
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Trees and shrubs can be very damaging to archaeological sites, particularly buried deposits, as a result of disturbance by root penetration, wind throw or by attracting burrowing animals or sheltering stock. This option helps to prevent expansion of scrub.
For this option you must:
- Where scrub is present on a site, further encroachment must be prevented by grazing and/or mowing.
- To avoid disturbance to nesting birds, do not remove scrub between 1 March and 31 July.
- You must prevent the spread of weeds, shrubs, saplings or scrub to avoid damage by roots.
- Avoid using heavy machinery and ensure works do not disturb the ground.
- If carrying out scrub clearance, stumps and roots must not be grubbed out, but stumps may be cut (or ground down) level with the land surface, and regeneration should be prevented.
- Remove cuttings or brash from the site.
- Do not tip, dump or burn any material on the site.
- Do not remove mature trees without Forestry Commission approval.
- Do not plough or re-seed.
ED4, 120 point per ha
ED5 Archaeological features on grassland
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Well managed permanent grassland is the best agricultural management option for archaeological sites and pastoral landscapes, such as ridge and furrow, to conserve them for present and future generations. This option may be claimed on the whole field containing the archaeological feature.
For this option you must:
- Maintain a continuous grass sward and do not allow bare patches of soil to develop (for example, by considering carefully the regular routing and rotation of stock movements, and gathering points such as water troughs).
- Do not supplementary feed on or next to the archaeological site.
- Control weed growth and prevent scrub development.
- Minimise the use of heavy vehicles on the site, particularly in wet weather, to prevent damage caused by wheel rutting and compaction.
- Do not tip or dump any material on the site.
- Do not harrow or roll earthworks (including ridge and furrow).
- Do not locate water troughs, mineral licks etc, in such a way as to cause poaching on or next to the archaeological site.
- Do not plough or re-seed.
ED5, 16 point per ha