Report highlights importance of nature reserve

Elements of the Mendip Hills date back to more than half a million years ago

A new report says Somerset's Mendip Hills nature reserve is of international importance due to its archaeology and more than half a million years of occupation, settlement and land use.

The State of Heritage report, produced by the South West Heritage Trust (SWHT), examines nine key periods from the Palaeolithic to the present day.

Caves, particularly at Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole, provide some of the best evidence for early human activity in Britain with connections across Europe, according to the report - the first of its kind on the area.

Bob Croft, from the SWHT, said: "Archaeology is not only the archive of the human life, but also the natural world."

In the latter part of the prehistoric period, important ceremonial sites like the Priddy Circles were made, the report says.

In the Bronze Age, the landscape was dominated by round barrows.

Recent studies of the early Bronze Age uncovered evidence of extreme violence and cannibalism at Charterhouse Warren Swallet, where some of the earliest evidence of the plague in Britain was also found.

In the Late Iron Age, the lead mining industry began and farms, whose remains can still be seen today, were established.

The Barrows at Tynnings Farm are part of the history of the Mendips

Mining continued into the 19th Century, but the area then reverted to farming as the main industry, with occasional military activities.

Jim Hardcastle, from the National Landscape Team, said: "The area contains evidence of human activity which is of both regional and national significance.

He added that the threats to the sites - such as ploughing, visitor erosion, recreational activities and the effects of climate change - remain a "significant concern".

"Monitoring and protection should be highlighted as a priority," said Mr Hardcastle.

"This needs to run alongside making people aware of the incredible heritage value of the Mendip and involving people in its protection."