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Coast search finds wrecks
SHIP wrecks, wartime defences and the remains of medieval salt factories have all been found during an examination of the north east coastline.
Using thousands of aerial photographs of the coastline, stretching from the Scottish border to Whitby, a team of English Heritage-funded archaeologists found almost a thousand new archaeological sites.
The majority of the newly recorded sites relate to World War 1 and 2, but surviving historic structures, cropmarks and earthmarks on more than 20,000 photographs were identified, interpreted, mapped and recorded for the project.
Since March 2007, an area of 560 square km has been surveyed, covering the inter-tidal zone from the low water mark to one kilometre inland.
The survey helped pinpoint the exact location of four wrecks on the mud flats at Amble, clearly visible from aerial photographs dating back to the 1940s.
Although they have previously been recorded, their exact location was not known until the latest survey.
Four new anti-aircraft sites at Blyth were also revealed, as well as examples of coastal practice bombing ranges, pill box sites, barbed wire obstacles, gun pits and barrage balloon moorings which were part of wartime coastal defences.
A pattern of shallow rectangular features around the medieval St Cuthbert's hermitage, on the Farne Islands, were also identified during the survey.
David MacLeod, senior investigator with English Heritage's aerial survey team, said: "This project will help us understand not just the history of our coastline, but also the dangers it faces now and in the future."
The results from the survey will be fed into a computer-generated map to give a complete picture of the area, which will be used to identify which sites could be under threat if sea levels rise.
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Weather for Blyth
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: -0 C to 2 C
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Wind direction: South
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Sunny spells
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