The largely undeveloped nature of the Yorkshire Dales has allowed the physical remains of human activity and habitation stretching back thousands of years to be widely preserved in the landscape.
Occasionally, archaeologists investigate sites through excavation, but more often they walk and survey the landscape to observe, in plain sight, structural evidence of past generations; from those who lived in prehistoric times to people who worked and lived on the land as recently as 100 years ago. On hills, moors, slopes, and in valleys, archaeologists and archaeology enthusiasts find evidence in the dales in such abundance that their passion has become a never-ending journey of discovery. This section of the web site tells the story of discovery so far in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, set in the context of the wider area of the northern Yorkshire Dales.
So rich is the tapestry of archaeology in the dales that in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale alone there are 33 sites scheduled by Historic England as monuments of national importance. In relevant sections of this website there are brief descriptions of each one together with links to their official listings on the Historic England web site. However, the large majority of the content in the accompanying pages features accounts of the extensive work of our president Tim Laurie over several decades, and of SWAAG members since the group’s inception in 2009.
For an extremely helpful introduction and overview of the archaeology of the region, visitors to this web site might like to click the links below to read three published articles by Tim Laurie:
