Dry weather exposes archaeological secrets at National Trust monasteries

With Sweltering temperatures and four heat waves, this year’s summer season will fall as one of the hottests in the record.

However, in addition to the family days at the beach and evening meetings around the barbecue, the hot weather perhaps brought a surprise benefit.

On the two national confidence sites, dry conditions reveal the grass and parchmarks in the parking areas showing the revitalizing maps of previously lost underground structures.

Thanks to the grass on the embedded walls drying at a different rate from the surrounding regions, the traces of the traces return until the 13th century.

In the former Augustinian Priory near Romsey in Hampshire, archaeologists can now see the ruins of the missing monastery buildings abandoned during the reshaping of the site in the 1700s.

Structures containing a monastery between the 13th and 16th centuries.

Open picture in the gallery

Founded in 1201, the former Priory, VIII in 1536. He was dissolved by Henry and passed into the hands of Sir William Sandys, who turned him into a Tudor house.

“These are an interesting view of the history of the oldest buildings known in Mottisfont here.

“We have done some geophysical research, but the buildings have never been excavated, so their secrets remain confidential except for these rare moments where they appear on the grass.”

At the Fountains Monastery of North Yorkshire, Parchmarks revealed the missing buildings of the monastery, including a large guest salon. The hall was divided into corridors with the column rows that appeared in dry signs on the ground.

Archaeologist Mark Newman said: uz We are a good look at the guest hall – a building that shows the importance of the hospitality of the monastery following the example of Christ.

Open picture in the gallery

“With its medieval lifestyle, it would have the capacity to host hundreds of people.

Met Office said that both June and July are constantly above the average of temperatures and Britain lived the hottest June month record.

Rainfall is also under the average and the British National Drought Group declared a “national important event” at the beginning of this month.

Tom Dommett, President of the Historical Environment of National Trust, said: “This year Parchmarks is shown more clearly and was recorded at the beginning of the year after a very dry spring.

“Since climate change has increased the likelihood of a warmer, more dry air in spring and summer months, even though we have seen Parchmarks in our places for many years, frequently increased noticeable, including 2018 and 2022.”