RESIDENTS will soon be able to enjoy a bird's-eye view of the history on their doorstep.

Historic England is launching a new digital aerial archaeology mapping tool which for the first time, allows people to fly virtually over England to find out more about the hidden archaeology in their local area, from ancient settlements to secret Cold War military installations.

The past of sites in Carlisle and along Hadrian's Wall will be among those that people in Cumbria will be able to explore.

To create this map, Historic England has analysed more than 500,000 aerial photographs taken over the past 30 years covering half of England.

The map aims to inspire people to connect with their local area and see how it may have looked many years ago and who might have lived there.

Chief executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, said: "This new aerial archaeology mapping tool lets people fly virtually over England and drink in its many layers of history.

"It will allow everyone to explore the hidden heritage of their local places and what makes them special.

"We hope it will give people a springboard to further investigation, whether for research purposes or simply to satisfy curiosity about what archaeological features they may have noticed around their local area."

Every site mapped has a simple description with links to the full historic environment records held online and for most of the areas mapped there is also a free report detailing the highlights and new discoveries encountered in each project.

Hadrian’s Wall was part of a broader system of Roman infrastructure which included roads, forts, and temporary camps which form the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site. Some of these sites, such as Housesteads Fort, have been excavated and can be seen on the ground but others remain hidden from view until seen from the air.

At White Moss near Carlisle are the remains of two Roman temporary camps first spotted from the air in 1949. During dry summers, the ditches of the camp can be viewed as cropmarks, as its growth is affected by the buried archaeological remains. 

When construction of the wall began in AD 122 the landscape had already been settled and farmed for generations. Aerial photography reveals traces of settlements along the course of the wall. On the Solway Plain in the west many have been discovered from the air along with traces of field boundaries and trackways that would once have linked them. 

After the Roman military forces withdrew from Britain in about AD 410, Hadrian’s Wall continued to shape the landscape. From aerial mapping, it is possible to see how medieval and post medieval fields were laid out to either side of the wall.

About 1,800 years after the construction of Hadrian’s Wall, this area was once again host to military forces, only this time defending against invasion. During the Second World War, sites ranging from airfields to military camps, gun batteries and anti-invasion defences were constructed.

Find out more about how you can use the new tool at https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/aerial-archaeology-mapping-explorer/.