Taming a Wetland Wilderness: Romano-British and Medieval Reclamation in the Somerset Levels and Moors

[FIRST PARAGRAPH] Wetlands dominate the landscape of Somerset, and the drainage of the Levels and Moors represents a remarkable human achievement. These wetlands are quite rightly valued for their nature conservation interest but they are far from a 'natural' environment: the wide range of freshwater flora and fauna that the Levels and Moors support today are a direct result of a human transformation of this landscape and the flood defences and drainage systems are very special cultural artefacts. This article is a summary of recent research into the creation of the 'historic landscape': the pattern of fields, roads, settlements and watercourses that we use today, but which in many areas is over a thousand years old.