A NUMBER of archaeological features have been unveiled by the current spell of hot weather.

Cropmarks have appeared throughout Wales - including Langstone and Magor - due to the high temperatures.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) has released a statement about the unusual markings, saying: “The unprecedented spell of hot, dry weather across Wales has provided perfect conditions for archaeological aerial photography.

“As the drought has persisted across Wales, scores of long-buried archaeological sites have been revealed once again as ‘cropmarks’, or patterns of growth in ripening crops and parched grasslands.”

RCAHMW’s senior aerial investigator, Dr Toby Driver, has been flying across mid and south Wales to document the effects of the weather on known sites.

Cropmarks are variations on a surface that indicate buried archaeological features.

But Dr Driver said they will be lost once more when it rains.

He added: “I’ve not seen conditions like this since I took over the archaeological flying at the Royal Commission in 1997.

“So much new archaeology is showing it is incredible.

“The urgent work in the air now will lead to months of research in the office in the winter months to map and record all the sites which have been seen, and reveal their true significance.”

The new information will be stories in the National Monuments Record of Wales, which already homes over 500,000 aerial photographs

If you want to find out more about RCAHMW you can visit their website www.rcahmw.gov.uk

To access the National Monuments Record of Wales visit www.coflein.gov.uk