THE summer heatwave has revealed the remains of Iron Age burial sites in Pocklington.

Archaeologists surveying the countryside from the air have been able to examine "cropmarks", which form faster and are more obvious when the soil is dry, according to Historic England.

The organisation said the burial mounds revealed in Pocklington are relatively rare but the square barrows are common on the Yorkshire Wolds. A spokesman said they are sometimes associated with elaborate burials with exotic items such as chariots.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "This spell of very hot weather has provided the perfect conditions for our aerial archaeologists to 'see beneath the soil' as cropmarks are much better defined when the soil has less moisture.

"The exceptional weather has opened up whole areas at once rather than just one or two fields and it has been fascinating to see so many traces of our past graphically revealed."

Historic England uses aerial photography of cropmarks to produce archaeological maps which help to assess the significance of buried remains and can be used to make decisions about protecting them from development or damage caused by ploughing.

Damian Grady, Historic England aerial reconnaissance manager added: "This has been one of my busiest summers in 20 years of flying and it is has been very rewarding making discoveries in areas that do not normally reveal cropmarks."