 It's not legally treasure but it is incredibly precious to me. Of course, you don't have to stumble across an ancient object to see the past in the countryside. Here are some of the marks on the landscape that you can find any time - but ones I think look especially beautiful on a gold-tinged autumn day. Extracted from Two for Joy, Adam Henson, £20. Pillow mounds Pillow mounds in Carmarthenshire (Image: Alamy Stock Photo) I wonder how many people realise rabbits are not a native British species? They are from southern Europe and the Romans brought some here. But it wasn't until William the Conqueror invaded in 1066 that the mammals were introduced in large numbers. The Normans built warrens and for the first time rabbits could be farmed for meat and fur. Around 2,000 of these sites are still visible across southern England and Wales, from Hatfield Forest in Essex to Mynydd Melyn in Pembrokeshire. These give the impression of large pillows made of earth which is why they're called pillow mounds. In the Middle Ages rabbits were known as coneys and the pillow mounds were called coney garths, an enclosure for rabbits. The rabbit farming of the past lives on in place names: there's Coneyhurst in Sussex, Coney Hill in Gloucester and Coneygar Hill in Dorset. Th){kind=link}
TV presenter and farmer Adam Henson has provided examples of marks on the landscape that you can find at any time, for those who are keen to see some history for themselves in the country
One of the stories the landscape tells us is that we’ve been here for thousands of years, and walking through a field or across the moors is following in the footprints of our forebears.
That was brought home to me a few years ago when I discovered a Roman coin right outside the farmhouse. I’d opened the back door and spotted something by the bootscraper.
When I bent down to retrieve it, I realised it wasn’t a 1p as I’d thought. This little remnant of everyday life had been in the soil for nearly 2,000 years and, by chance, today was the day it got stuck to my welly.
It’s not legally treasure but it is incredibly precious to me.