Looking at old ground in a new way: in the field

Work has continued on the ISH project ‘Looking at old ground in a new way’ into 2018, and in early May the team headed back to Burghley to undertake an exciting piece of work, this time with 5 horses and riders in tow. Having been at the mercy of an extended winter we were grateful that the sun was out in all its glory and the turf was in perfect condition. The work was being led by Russell Guire from Centaur Biomechanics and Dr Neil Linford from Historic England.

Prior to the horses arriving, Neil conducted a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey over known buried archaeological features. From a heritage perspective, the really interesting part of the fieldwork was seeing the horses each being fitted inertial measurement units (IMU). The IMU’s were fitted to measure the horses linear and angular motion over different ground conditions.

Both Neil and Russell agreed that the collection of their respective data through a heritage initiative was a first to their knowledge. By sharing their data, it’s hoped estate managers and the sport of eventing can make informed decisions on how best technologies and infrastructure can be integrated into historic landscapes. We look forward to seeing what comes of data collected and continuing this unique partnership.

Thank you also to the following for making the day a success:
David Purnell
Elizabeth Inman
Kathrine Bliss
Julia Dungworth
Victoria Bignell
Kelly Hetherington
Tamsyn Iveson
Tara Belcher

For more information contact Shaun McKinnar.

Shaun McKinnar
Research Assistant – Heritage science, Sport science & Wellbeing
UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage