Drone used to scan mysterious Hemlock Stone in Nottinghamshire

The University of Nottingham has used a drone to survey a 200-million-year-old red sandstone pillar in Nottinghamshire to determine if it was made by prehistoric humans or is a natural feature. The origins of the Hemlock Stone, which stands on the east side of Stapleford Hill in Bramcote, have been a conundrum for historians and geologists for hundreds of years. Some experts have argued it was the result of ancient quarrying, others the result of natural erosion and another claim is the Stone was shaped to produce a sacred Neolithic or Bronze Age monument. In 2012, The Nottingham Geospatial Institute (NGI) at the University carried out the first scan of the Hemlock Stone for local archaeology society, The Hidden History Team, which is leading the project to learn more about its geology and history. The NGI carried out the survey free of charge, using the latest 3D laser scan techniques - normally reserved for the geospatial industry - to help understand ancient sites and monuments in the region. "To scan the eight metre-high Stone without disturbing or touching it three years ago, we had to erect scaffolding," explains Dr Lukasz Bonenberg, Senior Experimental Officer with the NGI. "However due to the site's awkward location on the side of a slope, scaffolding could only be erected at the back.