By Brady Haran BBC News Online

Trent Bridge is a famous landmark

Many of its benefits are clear - it provides water, natural beauty and its valley is a rich source of gravel.

Other treasures are not so evident, often buried beneath metres of soil.

But for those who know what they are looking for, those treasures can be the most fascinating.

They tell a story of the Trent Valley spanning thousands of years - epic tales of climate change, landscape formation and early human settlement.

That information is now being researched and collated thanks to funding from an unusual source - the gravel industry.

Pictures from along the Trent

The industry is contributing to research via a £277,000 grant from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

The fund, overseen by English Heritage, has been used to establish the Trent Valley GeoArchaeology project.

Project co-ordinator Mike Bishop says the valley is "dense with archaeological remains", including prehistoric ritual monuments and Roman settlements.

However in many cases these remains are only visible by studying so-called "crop marks", usually seen from the air.

These marks are tell-tale signs caused when crop growth is affected by differences in soil depth.

For example, deeper soil caused by an ancient ditch increases nutrients and moisture, making a crop ripen earlier.

HISTORIC RIVER This resource is part of our wider heritage, but it is vulnerable to development Mike Bishop

The reverse happens when crops are planted above raised structures, such as an old wall.

These sites are being mapped by experts, although most will not be excavated because of practical and cost reasons.

Mr Bishop says: "Ultimately the true story lies in the soil and awaits a spade."

The Trent Valley GeoArchaeology project brings together many councils, trusts and universities which have an interest in the region.

Along with charting crop marks, the project's various schemes include: