Landscape and Archaeological Themes
Landscape Classification
Sheet 8 shows a chalk escarpment and wooded upland landscape, characterised by North Downs ridgeway, river gaps and Wealden hills.
Archaeological Landscape
The primary archaeological theme is North Downs ridgeway and river-gap archaeology. prehistoric hilltop visibility, Roman/medieval routeways and river crossing towns
High Visibility Locations
Box Hill, Reigate Hill, Leith Hill, Hog's Back
Terrain Archaeology
The terrain is interpreted using
hachures.
Hachures are especially useful for spotting scarp edges, river gaps, spurs and high-visibility nodes.
Main Landscape Features
Sheet 8 shows a mixed area of chalk escarpment and wooded upland North Downs ridgeway, river gaps and Wealden hills . The map is useful for studying early 19th Century historic settlement patterns, Roman road alignments, early archaeological site indentification, how roads, old tracks, lanes and paths, villages, waterways and field systems related to the wider nineteenth-century landscape.
Archaeological Predictions
High Archaeological Fieldwork Potential
North Downs Ridgeway's landscape suggests a prehistoric/Roman ridge route and visibility landscape. Dorking-Mole Gap's landscape suggests a river gap and crossing route node. Guildford-Wey Gap's landscape suggests a river crossing and routeway node. Box Hill / Reigate Hill Visibility Belt's landscape suggests a scarp-edge high point zone.
Historic Routes, Crossings and Connections
North Downs Scarp Corridor geography suggests long-distance ridgeway / Roman road candidate corridor. Wey-Mole-Reigate Crossing Chain geography suggests river-gap route corridor.Historic crossing points where roads, trackways or routeways converge on significant water features are widely recognised as archaeological hotspots. Crossing points often acted as gateways within the historic landscape. Because movement was channelled through these locations, archaeological evidence may occur both at the crossing itself and along the routes leading towards it, forming broader zones of archaeological potential rather than isolated sites.
Historic Gateways and Crossing Places
Guildford Wey Crossing is a major river crossing and gap route. Dorking/Mickleham Mole Gap is a river-gap crossing. Reigate Hill Foot Crossing Zone is a scarp-foot route/water crossing.
Historic gateways and crossings have been funnelling people, animals and goods through the same pinch-points for millenia. Losses, repairs and discarded objects collect there. Roadside stalls and settlements often grow up to serve that traffic, adding workshop and domestic scatter beside the route.
Archaeological Prediction Zones
Zone Type: fieldwork_priority_targets
Zone Name: North Downs scarp/Ridgeway:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
Zone Name: Guildford Wey crossing:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
Zone Type: villa_and_estate_potential
Zone Name: Guildford-Wey valley villa/estate zone:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: Roman villa
2: estate centre
3: farmstead
4: roadside settlement
5: high-status rural site
Evidence
1: river crossing
2: route node
3: dry valley ground
Zone Name: Mole valley villa/estate zone:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: Roman villa
2: estate centre
3: farmstead
4: roadside settlement
5: high-status rural site
Evidence
1: river gap
2: route focus
3: fertile valley
Zone Type: hillfort_and_enclosure_potential
Zone Name: Leith Hill high-ground candidate:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: hillfort
2: defended enclosure
3: promontory enclosure
4: lookout
5: beacon
6: later defensive reuse
Evidence
1: high wooded hill
2: visibility/resource landscape
Zone Name: Box Hill enclosure/lookout candidate:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: hillfort
2: defended enclosure
3: promontory enclosure
4: lookout
5: beacon
6: later defensive reuse
Evidence
1: prominent chalk hill
2: commanding views
Zone Type: road_convergence_inference
Zone Type: river_crossing_and_wetland_edge_inference
Zone Name: Guildford Wey crossing:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: ford
2: bridge
3: causeway
4: ferry
5: quay
6: roadside settlement
7: ritual deposition zone
Evidence
1: river crossing town
2: gap route
Zone Name: Dorking/Mickleham Mole gap:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: ford
2: bridge
3: causeway
4: ferry
5: quay
6: roadside settlement
7: ritual deposition zone
Evidence
1: river cuts North Downs
2: route focus
Zone Type: ridgeway_and_high_route_inference
Zone Name: Box Hill-Reigate Hill scarp:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: ridgeway
2: trackway
3: beacon
4: barrow group
5: prehistoric route
6: later drove road
Evidence
1: strong hachures
2: scarp-edge route
3: visibility
Zone Name: Hog's Back / North Downs high route:
Potential Archaeological Site Types
1: ridgeway
2: trackway
3: beacon
4: barrow group
5: prehistoric route
6: later drove road
Evidence
1: narrow chalk ridge
2: visibility
3: routeway logic