Land of Lead and Silver

In September Elder Archaeology kicked off our work for the North Pennines National Landscape team on the Land Of Lead and Silver project, which is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England.

The first sessions took place at Nenthead Mines, where participants joined a two-day workshop on photogrammetry and drone flight. These hands-on sessions introduced modern digital recording techniques used in archaeology, allowing attendees to create detailed 3D models and aerial imagery of historic landscapes. Alongside the training, participants also had the opportunity to explore the mines. These workshops were targeted at developing archaeology skills with local volunteers so they can take these skills forward into their volunteer work on the

recording and preservation of local lead mining sites.

The workshops marked a strong start to the project, blending practical skills with real-world heritage sites. Building on this momentum, a GIS workshop was delivered in December. This offered an introduction to mapping in QGIS ahead of the projects first survey season this March.

Elder Archaeology has also been working with younger audiences through the Young Archaeologists’ Club North Pennines group. In a recent session, young participants explored High Mill in Alston, gaining hands-on experience and insight into local history.

Land of Lead and Silver is off to a great start, this project will continue into 2027 with further events. The Elder Archaeology team are truly enjoying the project and the communities involved and would like to share a huge thanks to all the volunteers who have been involved so far.

This project is managed by Dr Colin Elder and lead by Jenny Addis.