Two linear earthworks on Row Brow which extend into Raincliffe Woods

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.

These linear earthworks survive reasonably well. Although affected by agricultual activity, the course of a track and tree-planting areas of the monument both remain visible as earthwork features and as buried features visible on aerial photographs. Together with other cross dykes in the immediate vicinity they will contribute to an understanding of prehistoric land division in the area.

Details

The monument includes a pair of linear earthworks of prehistoric date on the north eastern edge of Seamer Moor. The longer of the two earthworks is orientated broadly south east to north west and runs along Row Brow before turning slightly to the north where it extends into Raincliffe Woods, running down the valley side. It remains visible as an earthwork feature at its northern end north of Lady Grace's Ride, a modern track. To the south of this track it is no longer visible as an earthwork but is visible on aerial photographs. The earthwork is formed by a linear ditch bounded by two earthen banks running parallel to the ditch, on either side of it. The monument is up to 12m wide. Where they survive as upstanding earthworks the external banks are between 2m and 5m wide and 0.5m high. The central ditch is between 2m and 5m wide and is up to 1.5m deep. The earthwork is crossed by two footpaths, and a trackway known as Lady Grace's Ride. At its southern end it abuts the second earthwork which is orientated roughly north-south and extends to the edge of Row Brow. It is identical in form and dimension to the earthwork remains of the first linear earthwork in Raincliffe Woods described above. The southern end of this earthwork has a distinct terminal, with a rounded end to the ditch, also marking an original end point. Remains at the northern end of the earthwork indicate that it also originally terminated here on the edge of the valley. Toward its northern end this earthwork has been levelled by the modern track, Lady Grace's Ride, which crosses it. Here the ditches will survive as buried features.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

23811

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, Linear Earthworks of the Tabular Hills: North East Yorkshire, (1989), 60-64

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