Hilde van der Heul
New Forest National Park Authority Community Archaeologist
‘As an archaeologist, the New Forest is special to me because of its high level of historical landscape preservation despite its location in such a busy part of the country. I suspect this is due to a combination of its acidic soils and its relatively protected status, once as a royal hunting ground and now as a National Park.
‘I particularly love the Roman pottery kiln sites we have in some of our woodlands – they are a reminder that some of the quietest parts of the Forest today were in fact small but bustling hives of industry a couple thousand years ago.
‘Current challenges for the New Forest include changing weather patterns leading to a growing risk of wildfires and floods. Our coastal heritage sites are particularly under threat from increasing levels of erosion.’
