ABSTRACT
The work that this chapter describes was carried out within the framework of conservation and archaeological heritage management, as part of a widening of English Heritage’s responsibilities for the conservation, preservation and improved public enjoyment of the historic environment. Our approach started from a need to understand the dynamics and historic development of the presentday countryside, rather than necessarily to understand better the detailed functioning and appearance of landscapes in the past. Its objective was to develop methods of understanding the current landscape in archaeological terms and of assessing its historical value, in order to guide the myriad day-to-day decisions that continually change the face of the land. Some of these decisions are those of fanners, foresters and agriculturalists, others are taken by local government as part of the land-use planning system, still others by national or European government. Assessment methods need to be able to influence all of these.
