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Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, excavations across the country were closed, forcing archaeologists to be resourceful and use what they can at home to complete their studies. But on the other hand, it has inspired a lot of others who didn’t know they were passionate about archeology to take online courses to learn more. Among them is Chris Seddon, a wedding photographer whose jobs sold out under current restrictions, prompting him to spend a few hours studying maps and images of the area near his home in South Derbyshire.
He was following the line of the Trent River when he noticed an unusual feature near the town of Swarkestone.
Recalling the moment for The Guardian last week, he said, “I thought, what is that? It seems a little strange and a little round.”
Among other area content, Mr. Seddon discovered a LIDAR image, a method of measuring distances by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor, which looked like a lost henge.
Inspired by his finding, Mr. Seddon joined an online course led by DigVentures and uploaded his finding to the group to find out if anyone had more information.
He was surprised when the response from fellow classmates and professional archaeologists was as stunned as his.
DigVentures managing director Lisa Wilkins said there is no way to know for sure what it is yet, but said other nearby known Neolithic sites, the style of the feature and its location support the hypothesis of a lost henge.
She told The Guardian, “We are very happy to say that this really does seem like a ‘thing’.
“Of course, we are all eager to go out and investigate.”
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It is far from the only online course that has seen a surge of interest since the blockade began.
The Council of British Archeology and the University of Lincoln also launched Dig School last week.
It is an online program of thematic archeology workshops for schoolchildren and families, devised by Carenza Lewis, professor of public participation at the University of Lincoln.
