The recent sustained summer 2018 heatwave and dry spell across Cumbria & the Lake District is revealing hidden archaeological objects by tell tale scorch or parch marks, these can be identified with a survey by camera drone.

Some of these apparitions – called ‘crop marks’ or ‘parch marks’ – reflect sites previously known to archaeologists and historians, but many of the older outlines represent fresh discoveries, only made possible by the June and July 2018 long hot dry spell. An ideal way of identifying these is aerial filming by using a drone.

Hovershotz were commissioned to conduct an aerial survey of several acres of farm fields at Sellet Hall near Kirkby Lonsdale Cumbria to locate and identify a medieval chapel once thought to have existed locally. Using a DJI Inspire 2 drone equipped with Zenmuse X5S camera, a series of 4K videos were filmed along with 20 megapixel still images from a variety of altitudes. After reviewing the footage, the tell tale parch marks identified what is thought to be the outline of the chapel. The footage and images will be forwarded to archaeologists at Lancaster University to review with a view to conducting a Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey.