A study has highlighted how rural development and drainage for agriculture in the Somerset levels has badly damaged nationally important archaeological sites.
When ground water levels drop in the summer, the waterlogged remains dry out: current farming methods don't leave enough water inthe peat to protect them.
The study focused on 13 of the most important sites near Glastonbury, including prehistoric trackways and villages. Some sites had already been lost while others were suffering gradual decay.
Vanessa Straker of English Heritage said: "We are encouraging as many farmers as possible to apply for Defra's environmental stewardship scheme, which gives them payments in return for conserving the countryside."
taken from the article "Farming endangers prehistoric roads" by Norman Hammond
in the Times
timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-1818469,00.html
The survey was jointly carried out by English Heritage, the Environment Agency and Somerset County Council, and will be reported in detail in the November issue of British Archaeology.