A NEW guide has been published to make farmers and landowners more aware of the history buried beneath their feet.

The Cotswolds AONB partnership is working together with Gloucestershire County Council to highlight the importance of archaeology in the area.

The booklet contains practical advice on how farmers and landowners can help conserve historic sites, which are often found on agricultural land.

Mark Connelly, land management officer at the partnership, said he hopes to raise awareness about the dangers of losing the area's history. "Historic remains are usually found in the ground, close to the surface and improved farm machinery can be a problem," he said.

"Years ago, a plough would stop when there was an obstruction in the ground but modern machinery can slice right through it.

"We want to help farmers find ways of preserving important features on their land, which would otherwise be lost forever."

County archaeologist Nick Russell said that the first step to looking after historical steps was to find them. "It sounds obvious but sometimes farmers are not aware they have historic monuments on their land," he explained.

"In Gloucestershire, we provide an advisory service to farmers to assist in improving archaeological site management and grants are sometimes available to assist with this."

Copies of the Archaeology and Farming guides are available from the Cotswolds AONB partnership on 01451 862000.