What information does the Historic Environment Record contain?

A wide range of information relating to the historic and archaeological environment is included on the Historic Environment Record (HER). For example:

• Chance finds, such as prehistoric flint tools or fragments of Roman pottery
• Standing monuments, like the ruins of a Norman castle
• Excavations, often in advance of building development
• Field surveys, identifying scatters of material in ploughed fields and historic landscape features
• Cropmarks indicating buried walls or ditches, identified from aerial photographs
• Documentary evidence, such as a watermill shown on a 17th-century map
• Research projects, such as into industrial sites and World War II defences
• Information on protected sites, such as Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments and Historic Parks & Gardens

At present, Surrey HER contains over 23,000 records, ranging from the earliest periods of prehistory, to post-medieval times. As new sites and finds are being discovered all the time, the HER is continually being updated and our knowledge of all archaeological periods continues to evolve.