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 the well-preserved southern part of a cross-dyke,
running from the crest of Toisland Wold into Vessey Pasture Dale, and a round
barrow incorporated into the cross-dyke.
The cross-dyke comprises a 6m wide ditch with a 5m wide bank on each side. The
course of the dyke was recorded by J R Mortimer in the 19th century but, while
the southern part is still reasonably well-preserved, its northern part has
since been considerably altered by the construction of the road to Wharram
Percy House and is not included in the scheduling. South of the bend in the
road the eastern bank survives to a height of 0.5m, forming the modern field
and parish boundary. Although the ditch has been infilled and the western bank
levelled for agricultural purposes, these are thought to survive as buried
features running alongside the bank as far as the brow of the hill. Here the
cross-dyke continues down a slack leading to Vessey Pasture Dale and is
visible as an earthwork in uncultivated land. At the head of the slack the
ditch is up to 1.5m deep and, while the western bank is only slight, the
eastern bank is up to 1.5m high. Further down the slope the earthworks become
less distinct before terminating at the bottom of the slack, where the ditch
joins the ditch of another cross-dyke which runs along the floor of Vessey
Pasture Dale and meets with two further cross-dykes. (Two of these cross-dykes
are indentified for the purposes of scheduling as 20471 and 20474). All four
cross-dykes abut, but for reasons of clarity, they are defined as four
distinct cross-dykes, three of which are the subject of separate schedulings.
The bowl barrow lies 180m south of the modern road at a point where there is a
slight kink in the course of the dyke. Although altered by cultivation and no
longer visible as an earthwork, the barrow was recorded and partially
excavated by J R Mortimer in 1868. He noted that the dyke had cut through the
centre of the barrow.
All fences, including that running along the eastern bank of the dyke, are
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20473
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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
