LONDON,E NGLAND.- Have you ever wanted to know what lies beneath your feet, your house, or your high street? A revolutionary new CD-ROM, launched  by English Heritage and the City of Lincoln Council today, uncovers layers of Lincoln’s rich archaeology, from the Prehistoric era up to 1945, revealing more than 5,000 years of hidden history.

The Lincoln Archaeological Research Assessment (LARA) CD-ROM allows users to identify individual properties in and around Lincoln, including key historic sites, and reveals the complex archaeology that lies beneath them. LARA will be a valuable resource not just for planners and developers but for anyone interested in the character and history of where they live in and around Lincoln. It could also form a model to assist the planning and development of towns and cities across the country.

This is the first time that such a depth of archaeological knowledge has been available in this easy to use CD-ROM format. Drawing on more than 30 years of archaeological excavation and research, LARA has taken a team of English Heritage and Lincoln City archaeologists, historians and planners around two years to complete. Also previewed today are plans for the Lincoln Townscape Assessment (LTA), a new two-year town planning project, which will build upon LARA to inform future development in and around Lincoln.

Steven Bee, Director of Planning and Development for English Heritage, said: "Lincoln’s rich cultural and architectural heritage make it the perfect focus for these projects undertaken by English Heritage and the City of Lincoln Council. The archaeological and townscape assessments reflect a new approach to town planning and will help inform the future development of Lincoln within its historic context. These research projects could also help form a model to assist with the planning and development of towns and cities across the country."

The Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Donald Nannestad, said: "The City commends this important, new channel of information into Lincoln’s historical past. Lincoln is rightly proud of its rich history and it is wonderful that it is now be available, via the latest technology. On behalf of the city, I am thrilled to welcome English Heritage to Lincoln to launch the LARA CD-ROM and to mark the commencement of the Lincoln Townscape Assessment."

The Lincoln Townscape Assessment (LTA), a two-year collaboration between the City of Lincoln Council and English Heritage, will provide a new method of townscape assessment. It aims to incorporate the character of the City of Lincoln and the views of the wider community on what they consider important. The townscape assessment, in conjunction with LARA and an ongoing ecological assessment, completes a series of projects that are unique to the City of Lincoln.