Sunlit uplands? Managing moorland archaeology in the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2018-10-23

The Yorkshire Dales uplands have provided long-term stability for archaeological and palaeoenvironmental remains, and include earthworks (later prehistoric, early medieval, industrial) that frequently survive at a landscape scale. The areas embody some of the special qualities of the National Park. There are diverse threats to archaeological remains in this environment including; changing land management, visitor pressure, erosion and moorland fires. These are landscapes with competing management interests (recreation, shooting, communing, nature conservation, carbon sequestration, flood management), and sometimes competing designations, where multiple stakeholders occupy particular niche areas and try to work out how to fit it all together.
This talk assesses recent collaborative work in the Yorkshire Dales in the context of changing approaches to the uplands and increased recognition of the wider ‘environmental services’ that moorlands provide. It will consider the current support for heritage protection in these areas and offer some thoughts about where future challenges and opportunities may lie.

Miles Johnson, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority