Herefordshire Through Time
The aim of the Lower Lugg Archaeology and Aggregates Project (which ran from 2006 to 2009) was to improve understanding, management, protection and promotion of the visible and buried remains of past human settlement within the Lower Lugg Valley. The project was funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (as administered by English Heritage), and was managed by Herefordshire Archaeology (the archaeology service of Herefordshire Council).
The project stemmed from the development since the 1980s of large scale gravel quarrying in the Lower Lugg flood plain. Spectacular archaeological discoveries at Wellington Quarry have included the 1200-year-old remains of two of Britain's earliest known watermills, a Roman country estate, and the 4000-year-old burial of a local tribal leader.
These finds have confirmed that the Lower Lugg Valley has long been a significant area of intensive human settlement, and that nationally-important archaeological remains of this activity still survive. At the same time, given ongoing use of the Lower Lugg landscape for modern purposes such as gravel quarrying, farming and residential development, it is clear that effective management of the archaeological legacy of the Lower Lugg is a significant future challenge.
