Lasers Unearth Lost 'Agropolis' of New England 105
sciencehabit writes "Hidden ruins are customary in the wild jungles of South America or on the white shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Now, researchers have uncovered a long-lost culture closer to Western civilization — in New England. Using aerial surveys created by LiDAR, a laser-guided mapping technique, the team detected the barely perceptible remnants of a former 'agropolis' around three rural New England towns (abstract). Near Ashford, Connecticut, a vast network of roads offset by stone walls came to light underneath a canopy of oak and spruce trees. More than half of the town has become reforested since 1870, according to historical documents, exemplifying the extent of the rural flight that marked the late 1800s. Some structures were less than 2 feet high and buried in inaccessible portions of the forest, making them essentially invisible to on-the-ground cartography."
Summary (and article's first paragraph) misleading (Score:5, Insightful)
This makes it sound like a long-lost native civilization was discovered. Not the case. Early European settlers in New England devastated the native landscape and, basically, turned it into English sheep farms. As expansion pushed westward and agriculture shifted with it, that economy changed and native (and some invasive) species have reclaimed the landscape.
Still very cool and interesting, but a different story from what you might expect from reading the lede.
Unitedstateans looking at their belly button (Score:4, Insightful)
How is New England closer to Western civilization than the 'white shores of the Mediterranean Sea'? Western civilization was born in the shores of the mediterranean sea.
Re:lost in time (Score:5, Insightful)
Good point. But it may not take even that long. For example, I think the Studebaker plant still stands. And Armco Steel, which once was a primary employer in the Kansas City area, has been a gigantic rusting (but intact) hulk for a couple of decades. Since these things cost so much to tear down and there's no economic incentive to do so, they seemingly will last until nature takes over, in decades or centuries.
Historical/Archeological value (Score:5, Insightful)
Property owners can use these maps to determine whether any such structures exist on their property. They will then bulldoze them flat so as to prevent some preservationist societies from declaring their property off limits to development.