Walkers are threatening the ancient Shire Ditch, which runs along the Malvern Hills. The ditch is an important man-made archaeological feature, believed to date from the Bronze Age.
     Roughly following the county boundary between Worcestershire and Herefordshire (England), it is being worn away by the feet of the thousands of people who walk on the hills. Now a plan is being drawn up to halt the errosion, after Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty conducted a survey
     "It's part of a very well used route and we're bringing together the various landowners to ensure the preservation of this important feature," said AONB spokesman David Armitage.
     The Shire Ditch was originally believed to have been dug in the medieval times, to mark the boundary between the lands of the Bishop of Here- ford and the Earl of Gloucester. However, recent archeological work has shown it to be is much older, possibly dating from 1,500 BCE, and the work of Bronze Age settlers.

Source: Malvern Gazette (16 September 2005)