A man has stunned archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth.
Howard Jones’ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Google’s overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didn’t take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Now that's armchair archaeology! Treasure hunter locates Bronze Age settlement using GOOGLE EARTH – and digs up 5,000-year-old pottery and flint tools
Former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, trawled Google Earth for terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric men
He pinpointed a spot in South Hams and found the landowner to investigate
Howard Jones unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools dating back 5,000 years - hinting the site was a Bronze Age settlement
Experts surveyed the field and found two large buried farm buildings
Some parts of the settlement are thought to date back to Roman times
By Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline
22 October 2014
Daily Mail
Gone are the days when history buffs waited to stumble across a lucky find while out walking. Now treasure hunters are using the internet to make their own fortunes.
One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth.
Howard Jones’ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
Spotted: One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth. This aerial picture taken in 1989 shows the area in Spriddlestone, South Devon. The lines indicate the location of the prehistoric buildings thought to lie beneath the earth
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Google’s overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didn’t take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Unearthed: Howard Jones unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools (pictured) at the prehistoric site. They include an Iron Age hinge from a bucket (the curved piece of metal). Experts hope to find more similar fragments when they excavate the site in February next year
Mr Jones told Devon County archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment.
Together, they found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age.
Mr Horner said: ‘The survey shows two or three probable farmsteads which look to be late prehistoric, bronze age to Iron Age.
‘Other parts of the underlying settlement possibly continue to the Romano-British period, around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
‘The images also show tracks and enclosures, as well as a number of pits, which alongside Howard’s findings, looks like evidence of metal works.
‘We know that Devon’s mineral resources were being traded along the coast and along the channel in prehistoric times.
Scanned: The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for evidence of prehistoric habitation on the land (pictured)
‘While Dartmoor is famous for preserved historic sites, the same is not true of coastal areas. So this could be the missing link between those moorland sites and the evidence we have of trading.’
Mr Jones, who is now a commercial diver, said: ‘Night after night I looked at Google Earth asking myself the question ‘if I was alive 3,000 years ago where would I live’.
‘I would need food, water, shelter, close to Dartmoor for minerals, close to a river to access the sea and trade routes.
‘After a few weeks I put an “X marks the spot” on the map - that was where I would live.’
He was initially unable to test his theory because he was unsure who the land belonged to, until he came across the landowner by chance.
Mapped: Using Google’s overheard mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, Mr Jones pinpointed a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon (marked at A) that he believed would hold treasure
Discovered: Mr Jones (pictured right) told archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment. They found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age. Small finds are pictured left
‘At kids rugby training one night I remembered that one of the other coaches was a farmer and I asked him if I could field walk and detect on his land.
‘As I didn’t know where his farm was, I arranged for my family and I to meet him and he gave us a tour of his fields.
‘It was then I found out that my “X marks the spot” was on his land - it was unbelievable.’
It is hoped that a series of trench digs, set to take place February next year, will provide further evidence of the prehistoric settlement.
Mr Jones has previously searched for ancient artefacts underwater and in 2010 he was involved in the discovery of a 300-year-old Dutch merchant vessel called the Aagtekerke, off the Devon coast.
THE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT
Excavations are ongoing to establish the importance of the settlement, which lies in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
It is thought to be Bronze Age, or Iron Age.
Howard Jones discovered flint tools, pottery fragments and metal shards thought to be 5,000 years old.
A geophysical survey revealed two large buried structures thought to be prehistoric farm buildings.
Other parts of the settlement could date from Roman times, between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.
The survey images show tracks, enclosures and pits, which could indicate a metal works.
Howard Jones’ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Google’s overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didn’t take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Now that's armchair archaeology! Treasure hunter locates Bronze Age settlement using GOOGLE EARTH – and digs up 5,000-year-old pottery and flint tools
Former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, trawled Google Earth for terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric men
He pinpointed a spot in South Hams and found the landowner to investigate
Howard Jones unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools dating back 5,000 years - hinting the site was a Bronze Age settlement
Experts surveyed the field and found two large buried farm buildings
Some parts of the settlement are thought to date back to Roman times
By Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline
22 October 2014
Daily Mail
Gone are the days when history buffs waited to stumble across a lucky find while out walking. Now treasure hunters are using the internet to make their own fortunes.
One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth.
Howard Jones’ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
Spotted: One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth. This aerial picture taken in 1989 shows the area in Spriddlestone, South Devon. The lines indicate the location of the prehistoric buildings thought to lie beneath the earth
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Google’s overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didn’t take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Unearthed: Howard Jones unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools (pictured) at the prehistoric site. They include an Iron Age hinge from a bucket (the curved piece of metal). Experts hope to find more similar fragments when they excavate the site in February next year
Mr Jones told Devon County archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment.
Together, they found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age.
Mr Horner said: ‘The survey shows two or three probable farmsteads which look to be late prehistoric, bronze age to Iron Age.
‘Other parts of the underlying settlement possibly continue to the Romano-British period, around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
‘The images also show tracks and enclosures, as well as a number of pits, which alongside Howard’s findings, looks like evidence of metal works.
‘We know that Devon’s mineral resources were being traded along the coast and along the channel in prehistoric times.
Scanned: The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for evidence of prehistoric habitation on the land (pictured)
‘While Dartmoor is famous for preserved historic sites, the same is not true of coastal areas. So this could be the missing link between those moorland sites and the evidence we have of trading.’
Mr Jones, who is now a commercial diver, said: ‘Night after night I looked at Google Earth asking myself the question ‘if I was alive 3,000 years ago where would I live’.
‘I would need food, water, shelter, close to Dartmoor for minerals, close to a river to access the sea and trade routes.
‘After a few weeks I put an “X marks the spot” on the map - that was where I would live.’
He was initially unable to test his theory because he was unsure who the land belonged to, until he came across the landowner by chance.
Mapped: Using Google’s overheard mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, Mr Jones pinpointed a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon (marked at A) that he believed would hold treasure
Discovered: Mr Jones (pictured right) told archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment. They found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age. Small finds are pictured left
‘At kids rugby training one night I remembered that one of the other coaches was a farmer and I asked him if I could field walk and detect on his land.
‘As I didn’t know where his farm was, I arranged for my family and I to meet him and he gave us a tour of his fields.
‘It was then I found out that my “X marks the spot” was on his land - it was unbelievable.’
It is hoped that a series of trench digs, set to take place February next year, will provide further evidence of the prehistoric settlement.
Mr Jones has previously searched for ancient artefacts underwater and in 2010 he was involved in the discovery of a 300-year-old Dutch merchant vessel called the Aagtekerke, off the Devon coast.
THE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT
Excavations are ongoing to establish the importance of the settlement, which lies in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
It is thought to be Bronze Age, or Iron Age.
Howard Jones discovered flint tools, pottery fragments and metal shards thought to be 5,000 years old.
A geophysical survey revealed two large buried structures thought to be prehistoric farm buildings.
Other parts of the settlement could date from Roman times, between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.
The survey images show tracks, enclosures and pits, which could indicate a metal works.
