Heritage and Peatland Recovery: Peak District

Our Pastronauts added 3,436 features to the 2,208 already on record, more than doubling the number of identified archaeological sites within the National Trust area. Of those, 2,341 were entirely new discoveries, giving the Trust and the National Park a fundamentally richer picture of what lies beneath the peatland.

Volunteer-generated data scored an average quality rating of 84% – well ahead of the existing Historic Buildings, Sites and Monuments Record’s 72%, making the Pastronaut-generated data both larger and more reliable than what had existed before.

The validated dataset now informs the National Trust’s peatland restoration programme across the Peak District, helping to ensure that repair work to 10,000 hectares of damaged peatland can go ahead, with a clear picture of the archaeology beneath. It’s the kind of data that lets the Trust pursue climate action and heritage protection together, rather than having to choose between them.

Peatlands are both carbon stores and archaeological archives. The waterlogged, acidic conditions preserve organic remains that would decay in other soils – wooden structures, leather, textiles, and even human remains spanning thousands of years. Restoring peatland hydrology is essential for climate mitigation, but it needs to be done with an understanding of what the peat contains. Our Pastronauts provided that understanding.