Tag: enclosures

North Ring, Mucking, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex

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Enclosure (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – TQ 675 811

Archaeology & History

North Ring, Mucking (after Brown, 2001)

This large circular enclosure, measuring about 120 feet across, seemed to be a small settlement with several internal structures (fences, pits, cremations and a sunken-floored structure) that was first excavated in 1978 and described as a Bronze Age enclosure.  Akin to a henge monument in some ways, this small settlement site had two entrances: one on the east and the other opposite on its west side.  However, the main ‘entrance’ was on the eastern (sunrise) side, where post-holes laid a pathway over the ditch and into the structure itself.

The excavation on the eastern side of site revealed two periods of construction with associated structures, including three circular buildings.  Some excavations to the east produced evidence for a range of contemporary activities.  The assemblage of Late Bronze Age material included pottery, metalwork, cremation remains, sickle moulds and equipment for salt production.  For further info and imagery, see the Link below.

References:

  1. Bond, Dermot, Excavation at the North Ring, Mucking, Essex, East Anglian Archaeology 1988.
  2. Brown, N., “The Late Bronze Age Enclosure at Springfield Lyons in its Landscape Context,” in Essex Archaeology & History, volume 32, 2001.

Links

  1. North Ring, Mucking

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Springfield Lyons, Chelmsford, Essex

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Enclosure:  OS Grid Reference – TL 7357 0818

Archaeology & History

Springfield Lyons enclosure (after Brown, 2001)

We’ve known that there was an excessive number of prehistoric archaeological sites in and around the Chelmsford region for quite a long time now, but defining precisely the age and nature of the finds takes some doing! (as you’d expect)  It hasn’t helped, of course, with the housing estates and other ecologically destructive building operations in and around the area, screwing up a more accurate and patient assessment of the material there.  And this predicament was exemplified with the Springfield Lyons neolithic causewayed enclosure just as much as at the Springfield Cursus and other sites nearby.

Although excavations here found a large, deep ditch with impressive ramparts and entrance, in Oswald, Dyer & Barber’s (2001) survey of these giant monuments, they defined the remains here as “probable,” pending further investigations.  But the site was primarily defined by the large deep ditch, broken in several places round its edges with the ’causeways’ built leading onto the site.  The enclosure gave good views over the small valley from here and had streams running either side of it.

Adjacent to the site were the remains of a “small circular enclosure with multiple entrances,” saying that excavation here,

“has proved that it is of late Bronze Age date and might be interepreted variously as a defended settlement, or a ritual monument.”

This external small enclosure site was then conjectured, quite spuriously it’s gotta be said, to be a mini-version of the great causewayed enclosure monument, saying:

“Its siting and form both hint that it could have been a conscious imitation of, or re-invention of, the perceived form of the earthworks of the neolithic enclosure.”

I like the idea, it’s gotta be said — but without direct evidence we’ve gotta take this idea with a large pinch of salt!

…to be continued…

References:

  1. Brown, N., ‘The Archaeology of Essex 1500 – 500 BC,’ in Bedwin, O. (ed.), The Archaeology of Essex, ECC: Chelmsford 1996.
  2. Brown, N., “The Late Bronze Age Enclosure at Springfield Lyons in its Landscape Context,” in Essex Archaeology & History, volume 32, 2001.
  3. Oswald, Alastair, Dyer, Caroline & Barber, Martyn, The Creation of Monuments: Neolithic Causewayed Enclosures in the British Isles, EH: Swindon 2001.
  4. Priddy, D., ‘Excavations in Essex, 1987,’ in Essex Archaeology & History, 19, 1988.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Stanbury Hill Enclosure, Bingley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Enclosures:  OS Grid Reference – SE 109 433

Getting Here

Follow the same directions as to find the Lunar Stone, Spotted Stone, etc.  Go thru East Morton village up the steep moorland road, east, and where the road levels out there’s a right turn and a trackway on your left which leads onto the moor.  Go ½-mile up this track till you hit a moorland ‘footpath’ signpost.  Stop here and walk due west (left) for a coupla hundred yards.  If the heather’s grown back you aint much chance of finding owt – but if there’s only low growth, amble about zigzagging – and keep your eyes peeled!

Archaeology & History

Section of cairn rubble & walling
Section of cairn rubble & walling

Although there’s been no written record of the Stanbury Hill remains until very recently, it seems quite probable that Mr Stuart Feather would have come across at least parts of these remains when he uncovered the rock-art in the same vicinity, but he never made public his finds.  He was a diligent researcher and finder of cup-and-ring stones, nose to the ground sorta chap, and it would be odd for him to miss the other remains on this hill.  For as we now know, there are undeniable evidences of considerable neolithic and/or Bronze Age walling scattered along (mainly) the southern side of Stanbury Hill, running mainly along an east-west axis, but there are also examples of the walling running roughly north-south.  In at least one position near the western end of the ridge, halfway down the south-facing slope, is what seems to be the unmistakable trace of an enclosed hearth.  At the time of writing a series of archaeological digs are, slowly, being done hereabouts, so it will be good to read their final evaluations.

Very close to some parts of the walling we find the remains of old cairns, and at least one cup-and-ring stone has been carved along the axis of one line of walling (it reminded me very much of the Bronze Age settlement remains found at Snowden Moor, over the northerly horizon, in the Washburn Valley).  Several other previously unreported cup-marked stones have also been found here (we’ll highlight them on TNA in the coming weeks).

Upon first impression the remains found upon and around Stanbury Hill seem more related to mortuary practices than what we’d call ‘domestic’ living practices, as the prevelance of carvings and cairns indicates.  But we’ve gotta be cautious here, as in many sites the dead were kept with the living; and as we find in many traditional or aboriginal cultures, the land of spirits and that of the living are much more closely allied than in our profane ‘Western’ paradigm.

More from this site in due course…

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Yarnbury Settlement, Grassington, North Yorkshire

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Settlement:  OS Grid Reference – SE 012 655

Getting Here

Dead easy.  Take the road up through Grassington village, up Moor Lane, onto the grassy tops towards Yarnbury.  As the road levels out, and before you reach the tree-border of Yarnbury house, there’s a field on your left-hand side, opposite the one where the Yarnbury Henge lives.  If y’ go in there to check out this walling, shut the effing gate!

Archaeology & History

Section of walling, Yarnbury
Section of walling, Yarnbury

It appears that there’s little information on the remains of what seems to be some Iron Age walling a few hundred yards away, northwest of the little Yarnbury ‘henge’ monument.  Mikki Potts noticed it first of all, in one of the Northern Antiquarian ambles here t’other day.  The walling is quite distinct and typical of finds elsewhere, particularly the excessive Iron Age and Bronze Age walling remains less than a mile west of here, down the slopes near Grasssington.  At least two lines of walling are clearly apparent, running roughly northeast-southwest.  Another section runs off towards the extant walling back towards the road.  But more intriguing (for me anyway!), is what seems to be the remains of an old circle less than 100 yards north, on the other side of the footpath in the same field.

We didn’t spend too much time here and so another visit is obviously needed for further exploratory wanderings, but there appear to be further remains.  Although much of the terrain hereabouts is scattered with an excess of medieval archaeological relics — including some disused shafts at the very top of this same field — this section of walling has all the hallmarks of a much earlier period.  (sadly, a lot of the early mine-workings up here has destroyed a considerable amount our earlier prehistoric heritage).  As one local told us a a coupla weeks back, “There’s loadsa stuff up here which aint in the record books!”

Certainly seems like it!

(In the event that these remains turn out to be of a later period, this profile entry will be removed from TNA.)

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Ring Stones, Worsthorne, Lancashire

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‘Stone Circle’:  OS Grid Reference – SD 886 330

Also Known as:

  1. Ringstones

Getting Here

Ring Stones plan (after Bennett 1946)

Various ways to get here. From Worsthorne village, go east, up past the church, uphill following the dead straight path.  After about 600 yards there’s a crossing in the footpath: go left here and walk another coupla hundred yards, over 2 walls, and after you’ve past the second wall you’ll notice the earthworks in the ground to your right.  That’s it!

Archaeology & History

There’s nowt much to see here to be honest.  It was included in Walter Bennett’s (1946) survey of ROMAN remains (oh dear) in the region — and his archaeological description of this place certainly seems to imply it was those doods (the Romans) who built this structure and not our neolithic ancestors.  He wrote:

“Ringstones is a rectangular enclosure 50 yards square, surrounded by a mound or rampart 2 yards wide and one yard high, and an outer ditch two yards wide. Sepereated from the main enclosure by the ditch on the southeast side is another enclosure 18 yards square. Excavations made in 1925 gave the following information: a gateway, seven yards wide, was paved with boulder stones regularly laid on a gravel foundation, and on the south side of the gateway flat stones were sunk below the general floor level to act as a drain; a regular course of large stones flanked the gateway entrance on either side, and a foundation or irregular boulder stones was laid outside the gateway between the rampart and the ditch: inside the enclosure and 9 inches below the present grass surface., a floor had been made of gravel in some places and of flat stones or cobbles in others; the rampart was of earth and stones; a well-constructed road, 7 feet wide, ran from the earthwork in the direction of Bottin Farm, wich is situated on the Worsthorne-Roggerham road.”

There used to be a rough circle of stones on top of the site (probably giving the place its name), but these were apparently from the old remains of a lime-kiln from the 16th or 17th century — not prehistory.  There is, therefore, a case that this site may not be prehistoric as archaeologists have classed it — and if the ground-plan above is anything to go by, you’d have to say it looks less than promising.  More diggings are needed!

References:

  1. Abraham, John Harris, Hidden Prehistory around the North West, Kindle 2012.
  2. Bennett, Walter, History of Burnley – volume 1, Burnley Corporation 1946.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Enclosure Carving, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 12836 46147

Also Known as:

  1. Carving no.129 (Hedges)
  2. Carving no.288 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Enclosure Stone design (after Hedges 1986)
Enclosure Stone design (after Hedges 1986)

Nice n’ easy.  Get to the Haystack Rock and walk on the path west (past the Three Cups Stone) and where the path swings round following the edge of the small Backstone valley, keep going for 150 yards or so.  Keep your eyes out for the remains of walling in the Green Crag Settlement on your left.  This flat stone is amidst the heather in and amongst the enclosure (hence the name).  If you walk back and forth hereabouts for a short period, checking for flat stones amidst the heather about 20 yards off the path, you’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

Top-left section of CR-288 - note the carved line 'enclosing' the cups which aint on the archaeo-drawings
Top-left section of CR-288

This is another one of those carvings which had been seen by a number of people, bimbling about across this part of the moor, before it saw the literary light of day in Hedges Carved Rocks book (1986).  It’s a nicely-preserved design, usually covered over by much heather growth, but is worth the exploration if you like your cup&rings.  The drawing of this stone however (in both Hedges and Boughey & Vickerman) does not convey the actuality of the carving, as we can see here.  But that’s the case with many cup-and-rings: linear precision and the artisty of the carving are two very different things.  As we can see here, one section of the stone has a defined ‘enclosure’ of cups etched upon the rock surface: something that is clearly missed in the archaeologist’s drawing.  Check it out y’self and see what you think!

References:

  1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
  2. Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Castle Hill, Upper Cumberworth, West Yorkshire

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Settlement:  OS Grid Reference – SE 2042 0697

Getting Here

Morehouse’s 1861 plan

Taking the A629 road between Shepley and Ingbirchworth, as you hit the staggered crossroads at High Flatts, take the west turn up the slightly sloping straight road of Windmill Lane.  Just where the road ‘kinks’ at a small bend, stop and look into the field on your left.

Archaeology & History

Deemed by some as a hillfort, and others as settlement remains, what little are left of the remaining earthworks here were first described by local historian Henry Morehouse in 1861.  Found about a mile west of Upper Denby, the site was described in the Victoria County History as being “on a commanding though not exactly a defensive situation on the slope of a hill.” This remark coming from the belief (and that’s all it is) that this was an Iron Age castle site.  In 1924 James Petch said of it,

“The earthwork seems originally to have been almost square, and two sides and an angle remain. The external ditch is from ten to twelve feet broad in its present state.”

While Faull & Moorhouse (1981) tell of there being “evidence for Neolithic activity” here, modern surveyors reckon it as an old prehistoric settlement — which makes sense; though little of the site remains to be seen today.

References:

  1. Faull, M.L. & Moorhouse, S.A., West Yorkshire: An Archaeological Survey, I, WYMCC: Wakefield 1981.
  2. Morehouse, Henry James, History and Antiquities of the Parish of Kirkburton and the Graveship of Holme, Roebuck: Huddersfield 1861.
  3. Petch, James A., Early Man in the District of Huddersfield, Huddersfield 1924.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Urn Stone, Green Crag, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 12832 46163

Also Known as:

  1. Carving no.130 (Hedges)
  2. Carving no.287 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Drawing of the Urn Stone (after Hedges 1986)
Drawing of the Urn Stone (after Hedges 1986)

Follow the directions for getting to the Haystack Rock, then bear right (west) along the footpath, past the little Three Cups Stone, until the path bends and goes up onto the moor.  A hundred yards or so, walk left into the heather (you’re straddling the remains of considerable prehistoric walling and enclosure remains by now) and look around.  You’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

I was only about 12-years old when I first saw this and the nearby prehistoric carvings — but when I came to look for any references to it as a boy, there were none I could find at the time.  Then, ten years later when John Hedges (1986) brought out his fine work on the cup-and-ring art of Ilkley Moor, its presence was shown in pen-and-ink at last.  Found amidst the remains of an extensive settlement or series of walled enclosures, the carving’s name comes from the curious urn-like element that Hedges showed faintly.   There is also an additional ring around one of the cups above the ‘urn’.

Excavations that were done on the prehistoric ‘enclosure’ close to this petroglyph in the 1990s, uncovered the remains of a decent amount of ‘grooved ware’ pottery and worked flint (Edwards & Bradley 1999), dated between 2900 and 2600 BC.  As such pottery has been found elsewhere in Britain within and/or near earthworks and other prehistoric remains (obviously!), its incidence here isn’t really too much of a surprise.  However, Edwards & Bradley (1999) speculate — albeit vaguely — that there may be a link between the cup-and-rings here and the pottery, saying, “if so, the rock carvings (here) might be indicating a place of special significance.”

This may be so: considering the prevalence of rock-art along the geological ridge and its close association with the large number of burial cairns.  If it can be ascertained that the charred remains of humans were kept inside the pottery or vases, the relationship between death and the carvings (well established on this part of Ilkley Moor) would be reinforced.

References:

  1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
  2. Edwards, Gavin & Bradley, Richard, ‘Rock Carvings and Neolithic Artefacts on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire,’ in Grooved Ware in Britain and Ireland (edited by Cleal, R. & MacSween, A.), Oxbow: Oxford 1999.
  3. Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Danes Dyke, Flamborough, East Yorkshire

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Earthworks:  OS Grid Reference – TA 2156 6923 (south) to TA 2131 7323

Getting Here

A 2½-mile long earthwork can obviously be reached from all sorts of ways, but coming out of Flamborough towards Bridlington (B1255 road) you can go down the Home Farm road and park up; and from here walk up the pleasant woodland walk, literally from coast to coast, where you’ll see good portions of the earthwork intact.

Archaeology & History

An impressive site by any means.  Running from Dykes End on its southern edge for 2½ mile, roughly north, until hitting the North Sea again at the other Dykes End, this great earthwork had little to do with the Danes.  It seems to have been originally started around 3000 years ago in the early Iron Age.  As Mr Gower (1975) told:

“Excavations carried out at the end of the (19th) century revealed traces of a flint workshop and many arroheads were found… The earthwork is about 18 feet high and on the western side is a ditch 60 feet wide.  Several openings are to be seen, but these are probably comparatively recent.”

…to be continued…

References:

  1. Gower, E., Flamborough, Dalesman: Clapham 1975.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Avon Reservoir, Dean Moor, South Brent, Devon

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Settlements (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – SX 677 653

Archaeology & History

Prior to the submergence of one of the many prehistoric settlements in and around the waters of the Avon Reservoir, excavation work was carried out by Lady Aileen Fox between 1954 and 1956 on behalf of the Ministry of Works. The excavation notes in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society for 1957 told what Lady Fox and her fellow archaeologists found at the site that was due to be submerged:

“The walled enclosure of 2½ acres contained nine huts from 15-20 feet in diameter and three pens built against the outer wall.  The huts were roofed in the same way as those as Kestor, having a central post and a ring of six or seven uprights supporting the main rafters.  Part of the settlement was incorporated into a medieval farmstead, but the prehistoric occupation proved to be from the local Late Bronze Age.”

Since that report, a number of other prehistoric settlement sites have been found on the surrounding moorland heights (as a quick look at the OS-map clearly shows).  Obviously a very busy place in ancient days!

References:

  1. Clark, J.G.D. (ed.), “Notes on Excavations in Eire, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales during 1956,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 23, 1957.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian