Tumuli: OS Grid Reference – SE 645 377
Travelling up (north) the A19, just as you get to Riccal village, there’s a small road to your right: take this! A mile along there’s a parking place just where the track veers into the woods. That’s where you’re heading. The remains of the tombs hereabouts can be hard to discern – but if your lucky you’ll either meet a local, or the virtue of patience will bring these overgrown tombs into focus! There are other tumuli a few hundred yards east and north of here aswell. If you wanna get a clear picture of them all, a full day would be a good bet!
Archaeology & History
Not to be confused with the other Danes Hills tombs a couple of miles northeast of here (as done on some other sites), the early Victorian geologist and explorer John Phillips (1853) was one of several early writers who described what, today, are known to be Iron Age tombs, scattered about a short distance east of Riccall village, saying:
“On Skipwith Common are many tumuli, old banks, and the slightly-marked foundations of ancient (turf or log?) houses or wigwams. These, by some error of tradition, are called ‘Danes’ Hills/ but, on opening the tumuli, no confirmation of so modern a date appeared. The tumuli are set in square fosses; the sides of the fossae range north and south and east and west (true). Similar facts appear in connexion with the tumuli on Thorganby Common adjacent. Burnt ashes and bones occur in the mounds; facts which suffice to overthrow the supposition of these hills being funeral heaps of the Danes of the llth century, for they then buried their dead. No instruments of metal, bone, or stone, or pottery were found.”
There were dozens of tombs that could be seen here in the past, but today many have been destroyed or are hidden by the cover of trees. A sketch-map (above) showing the rough location of many of the graves was made by the Yorkshire Antiquarian Club after a visit here in 1849 (Proctor 1855), who opened several of the barrows. Archaeologist Ian Stead (1961; 1979) defined these remains as being of the famous La Tene burials — though I’m unsure as to whether any of the tombs here had the great horse-chariots found in them, as found in the more famous Danes Graves tombs close to Driffield.
Folklore
The name of these small hills acquired their Danish title via a mix of real history and folklore. History tells of the old Danish King Harald Hardrada, who moored his fleet of ships a few miles away from here before going into battle against the armies of Northumbria and Mercia. “Dane’s Hill,” said Bogg (c.1895), “still marks the spot where the fight took place.” As John Burton (1758) told us:
“Ever since the aforesaid battle, it is by tradition to this day said, that the Danes were permitted to encamp here till they had buried their dead, and their ships at Riccal should be ready for their re-embarking for Norway.”
Local folk used to tell of the tradition of the local swamp — called Riccal Towdyke — being choked with the bodies of many slain in the battle hereabouts. Many pieces of red cloth were found all around in the neighbourhood of these tombs. However, despite this mix of fact and folklore, the tumuli were see marked on the modern OS-maps have been found to be Iron Age in origin.
…to be continued…
References:
- Bogg, Edmund, From Eden Vale to the Plains of York, James Miles: Leeds n.d.
- Burton, John, Monasticon Eboracense, N. Nickson: York 1758.
- Elgee, F. & H.W., The Archaeology of Yorkshire, Methuen: London 1933.
- Morrell, W. Wilberforce, The History and Antiquities of Selby, W.B. Bellerby: Selby 1867.
- Phillips, John, The Rivers, Mountains and Sea-Coast of Yorkshire, John Murray: London 1853.
- Proctor, W., ‘Report of the Proceedings of the Yorkshire Antiquarian Club, in the Excavation of Barrows from the Year 1849,’ in Proceedings of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, 1855.
- Stead, I.M., ‘A Distinctive Form of La Tene Barrow in Eastern Yorkshire,’ in Antiquaries Journal, volume 41, 1961.
- Stead, I.M., The Arras Culture, Yorkshire Philosophical Society: York 1979.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
I am the archeology officer for the Friends of Skipwith Common and one of our roles is recording the wealth of prehistoric evidence available on the common, this includes a number of boundary mounds, an enclosed settlement and recently discovered triple bank foundry ditches. If anyone is interested in visiting the common I am more then happy to act as your guide.
I am however a bit puzzled by the sketch map, it is said to be of the Danes Hill area to the Eastern edge of the common near to Riccall but the orientation seems to suggest it actually represents the Danes hill to the North East of Skipwith, the very area the text states should not be confused with this area.
My apologies when I said the Eastern edge of the common I actually meant the Western edge near Riccall
Hi there!
Cheers for the invite to check this region out. I’d love to have a walkabout in the area. If we could arrange doing that in the near future it’d be great.
I know what y’ mean about the old hand-drawn map. It’s not clear and doesn’t seem to fit much of the OS-map of the region; but the fact that it’s described as Skiptwith Common tells us, as you corrected, to be nearer Riccall than not. Still, it’d be good to have a wander about and work out exactly which tombs are highlighted. I’ve got some more old articles of the place (somewhere!) which I’ll copy & bring along.