GlossaryHigh Weald Glossary of Terms
All
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AONB |
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty |
| ASNW |
Ancient Semi Natural Woodland |
| aurochs |
A large herbivore, the ancestor of modern cattle. An aurochs looked like a large cow with giant horns. |
| beech mast |
The nuts of the beech tree, which lie under the trees in autumn; a favourite food of pigs. |
| chalk hills |
The High Weald is surrounded by the hills of the North and South Downs AONBs. These hills are made of chalk. You can easily see the chalk at the White Cliffs of Dover or Beachy Head. |
| coppice |
Woodland where the trees are cut periodically, and are left to regrow from the cut stumps, known as stools often producing multiple stems. |
| CRoW |
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the current legislation regulating AONB's |
| Den |
From the Bronze Age to the late Saxon period, pigs were driven into the Weald each autumn to feed on acorns and other woodland foods. Gradually, from around the seventh century, the Weald was parceled into small dens (swine pastures) belonging to people living in the north and east of Kent and the South Downs. Generally, the dens varied in size from about 50 to 400 acres. |
| droving |
To drive, pigs, cattle or sheep, on long journeys. Farmers drove their pigs from the North and South Downs to the woods of the High Weald. |
| flint |
A rock found in the chalk hills of the North and South downs. Mesolithic people made it into many useful tools, such as arrow heads and scrapers. |
| Flint Knapper |
Someone who is skilled at making tools from flint. The flint is hit at different angles to make a sharp edge, which can be used to make knives, axe heads, arrow heads and scrapers. Click here to find out more. |
| gill stream |
Steep-sided, wooded gills are a special feature of the High Weald: they are formed where a stream has carved a deep channel for itself through the clay and sandstone of a hillside. |
| GIS |
Geographic Information System. Digital mapping software which enables the capture, analysis and presentation of data that are linked to a location (mapped). |
| great rocks (sandstone) |
The great rocks that Tarneg found are the sandstone outcrops that lie at the heart of the High Weald mainly - around Tunbridge Wells. The rocks were formed over 140 million years ago. Archaeologist have found evidence that people camped at High Rocks and Harrison's Rocks more than 10,000 years ago. |
| JAC |
Joint Advisory Committee |
