Two late prehistoric wooden trackways on the Somerset moors have dried out and been lost according to a new study. 

Severe damage was also found at an Iron Age wetland settlement and nine other nationally important sites.

The study blames the losses on the drying up of prehistoric wetland archaeology by arable farming.

Richard Brunning, of Somerset County Council Heritage Service said: "It was a shock to see the damage that desiccation has caused."

Stewardship Scheme

During the summer, the ground water table drops below the waterlogged remains, which causes them to dry out.

Two Neolithic trackways, The Abbot's Way and Bell Track (3000-2500 BC), were only 40cm from the present ground surface meaning they were always above the water level.

At three other sites, including a late Bronze Age structure possibly used for rituals, the water table dipped below the wooden remains for between three and five months during the summer.

The study claims current farming practices are not providing sufficient irrigation of peat soil to preserve the monuments.

It also warns other fragile archaeological sites, some of which are more than 5,000 years old, could be all but destroyed by agricultural drainage within a century.

English Heritage is now calling for farmers to join Defra's Environmental Stewardship Scheme which rewards them for preserving the monuments through maintaining raised water levels and converting arable land to pasture.

The study was paid for by English Heritage, Somerset County Council and the Environment Agency.