Reasons for Designation
Cross dykes are substantial linear earthworks typically between 0.2km and 1km
long and comprising one or more ditches arranged beside and parallel to one or
more banks. They generally occur in upland situations, running across ridges
and spurs. They are recognised as earthworks or as cropmarks on aerial
photographs, or as combinations of both. The evidence of excavation and
analogy with associated monuments demonstrates that their construction spans
the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although they may have been re-used
later. Current information favours the view that they were used as territorial
boundary markers, probably demarcating land allotment within communities,
although they may also have been used as trackways, cattle droveways or
defensive earthworks. Cross dykes are one of the few monument types which
illustrate how land was divided up in the prehistoric period. They are of
considerable importance for any analysis of settlement and land use in the
Bronze Age. Very few have survived to the present day and hence all well-
preserved examples are considered to be of national importance.
Details
The monument includes part of a prehistoric cross-dyke which ran from the
bottom of Brownmoor Dale northwards across the plateau at the western end of
Birdsall Wold. The cross-dyke is one of a number of prehistoric monuments in
the vicinity of Aldro Farm. Although infilled and levelled by cultivation over
most of its length, the southern part of the dyke, as it rises up the north
side of the Dale, is visible as a 6m wide ditch, 0.5m deep and flanked by 0.3m
high banks, having an overall width of 20m.
The continuing course of the ditch has been traced on aerial photographs and
J R Mortimer, who recorded the prehistoric remains in the 19th century, noted
that the ditch was visible as a cropmark.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20496
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
