Parchmarks form when buried walls or foundations change how grass dries compared with surrounding soil, creating visible outlines in very dry weather. An unusually hot, dry spring has produced clear parchmarks at sites such as Fountains Abbey and Mottisfont, revealing foundations and lost medieval buildings. The parchmarks at Fountains Abbey outline a large Guest Hall that once accommodated hundreds of visitors, reflecting monastic hospitality. Visibility of parchmarks historically occurred infrequently but has increased in recent years as climate change raises the likelihood of hotter, drier springs and summers, improving archaeological visibility.
"Parchmark visibility varies from year to year, historically only showing well every 15 years or so. This year parchmarks are showing more clearly, and have also been recorded earlier in the year, after an exceptionally dry spring,"
"In more recent years the frequency has noticeably increased, including in 2018 and 2022, as climate change increases the likelihood of hotter, drier weather in spring and summer."
"We have a good clear view of the Guest Hall - a building which shows the importance of the abbey's 'hospitality', one of the monastic duties following Christ's example. It would have had the capacity, with medieval lifestyles, to have accommodated hundreds of people. It sh"
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