Hello community. I'm Nigel, a long term resident in the Chilterns, retired geologist, sometime amateur archaeologist (or at least an enthusiastic amateur antiquarian and historian), a co-leader of the Chilterns Young Archeologists Club (YAC), volunteer science communicator at the Science Museum, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassador with local schools. And I'm very excited by the all possibilities the BotP Project, and particuarly the LiDAR data, presents.

Hello everyone. I'm Andrew and I live in Edinburgh. I am a student and excavator with Wendy Morrison, who is Ed's colleague on this fascinating project. Am looking forward to trying to get to grips with everything on here. This really is my introduction to it, as I have not attended any of the tutorials or workshops on this so far. I shall keep having a look here to see what I can learn and will also try to point out anything which perhaps doesn't look right and might need improved. Hoping to be online at 3pm Wednesday 7th August, as advised by Wendy, so that the system can be given a good stress test!

Hi, I'm Martin and I live in South Bucks. I graduated in archaeology long before LiDAR was used and was an archaeologist for a while before going into IT. I'm now very involved with local archaeology as chairman of the archaeology society Archaeology in Marlow (AIM) and as a National Trust archaeology volunteer at Cliveden. AIM are very interested in BOTP as we have previously investigated two of the Chiltern hillforts and the LiDAR survey covers our area of interest.

I suppose I should introduce myself - my name's Ed, and I'm the Landscape Heritage Officer for the "Beacons of the Past" project, based at the Chilterns Conservation Board (the statutory body set up to look after the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), in Chinnor, Oxfordshire. Our project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Prior to working on this project I completed a doctorate at Oxford, researching Roman building material production, transportation, and use. I used archaeometric techniques (thin section petrography and scanning electron microscopy) to analyse Roman stone and ceramic building materials, but also used LiDAR for looking at raw material extraction sites in Oxfordshire. 

I'm really excited to get the LiDAR portal up and running, and to see how everyone gets to grip with the data!

This is David - no archeological background but a keen interest in how our landscape has developed.  I live and walk in the Chilterns and am keen to see what mysteries LIDAR will uncover.

Hi.  I'm Suzanne and I've been looking forward to this project going live.  I have been fascinated by archaeology for a long time (and considering a career change to it).  I also have a love of maps and photography, so this project pretty much ticks all the boxes.  I can't wait to see what this project turns up!

Hi, I'm Phil.  Like others I've been looking forward to this project going live.  I have no background in archaeology whatsoever but I'm very interested to find out more about the historic landscape in my little corner of the Chilterns in South Oxfordshire.  Lots of "lumps and bumps" around Woodcote and Goring Heath mostly attributable to old clay and chalk workings and the abandoned RAF Woodcote munitions stores in the woods.  Hoping to find something undiscovered that is older than that!

Hi, this is Tim. I was at the training day in Nettlebed.

What better way to spend a rainy day in August!

Hi Chilfortians, I'm Bill, I've spent 30 years wandering around the lumps and bumps in the Chilterns wondering what they were.

I spend a fair bit of time looking at maps and aerial photography to try and identify those features, so I am especially fascinated by the LiDAR, I am actually amazed at the amount of fields I am seeing in woodland.

Hi All. I'm John and my introduction to Chiltern Hillforts came when I joined the Wendover Woods group hacking out invasive holly at Cholesbury. I've always been interested in history and archaeology and now I'm retired I am really happy that this opportunity to get involved has come along. 

Hi All!

I'm Dave, an ex-IT person, who has started in the museum trade since redundancy. Always interested in history and archaeology but never really had a chance to do it until now. I've been along to a couple of hillfort walks with the group and the GIS and Lidar training sessions with Ed. I'm now worried about how much I've forgotten! And I am being inspired by my good friend Kimberley and her interest in the Iron Age and by other people I've met and things we do at the museum.

Hello, 

I'm Terry Jackson (Mrs). My husband Keith and I found out about the project through two Watlington Environment Group talks. We were both enthused enough to join and attended Ed's workshop in High Wycombe. I too am feeling ill prepared and look forward to the feature of Monuments to aid identification. Being somewhat rash I've submitted two features despite my uncertainty! Looking at my local area of Watlington Hill and Greenfield Copse I'm seeing a lot of what look like shell holes, especially where tree cover is thin. I wonder what these are. Rabbit holes or bole holes? 

Hi Terry, welcome.

Those holes are very curious indeed. You could post in the archeological section to see if there are any ideas.

Hi Terry,

As Bill says, we probably ought to discuss these holes in the other section - but I wonder if many of them may be tree throws/bole holes. It looks like this area has been replanted as the trees seem smaller than elsewhere. Perhaps a lot got blown down in the 1987 hurricane. Some of the holes could be saw pits but there are too many close together for them all to be that. I wouldn't like to meet rabbits that dug holes this big! Plenty of other interesting earthworks in these woods too.