Enclosed settlement known as `Soldier's Trench' including a cup-marked rock

Reasons for Designation

Rombalds Moor is an eastern outlier of the main Pennine range lying between the valleys of the Wharfe and the Aire. The bulk of this area of 90 sq km of rough moorland lies over 200m above sea level. The moor is particularly rich in remains of prehistoric activity. The most numerous relics are the rock carvings which can be found on many of the boulders and outcrops scattered across the moor. Burial monuments, stone circles and a range of enclosed settlements are also known. Within the landscape of Rombalds Moor are many discrete plots of land enclosed by stone walls or banks of stone and earth, most of which date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC), although earlier and later examples may also exist. They were constructed as protected areas for settlement, stock penning, or crop growing. They may be subdivided into a series of smaller enclosures; those used for settlement may retain evidence of the round huts originally located within them. The size and form of enclosures vary considerably, depending on their particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and relationship to other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices among prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are worthy of protection.

Prehistoric rock carving is found on natural boulders and rock outcrops in many areas of upland Britain. It is especially common in the north of England in Northumberland, Durham, and North and West Yorkshire. The most common form of decoration is the `cup' marking, where small cup-like hollows are worked into the surface of the rock. These cups may be surrounded by one or more `rings'. Single pecked lines extending from the cup through the rings may also exist, providing the design with a `tail'. Other shapes and patterns also occur but are less frequent. Carvings may occur singly, in small groups, or may cover extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods (2800-c.500 BC) and provide one our most important insights into prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown, but they may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols. All positively identified prehistoric rock carvings sites will normally be identified as nationally important. This enclosure is reasonably well preserved and contains within it an earlier carved rock, indicating the continued use of the moor over time. The enclosure is also surrounded by a series of banks which are interpreted as the remains of a contemporary field system.

Details

The monument includes the subcircular enclosure known as `Soldier's Trench' situated on Bracken Hall Green. At various times this site has been referred to as a `stone circle', but this appears to be a misnomer, as on closer inspection, the site is an enclosed settlement, defined by a complex of rubble banks, orthostat walls, and combinations of these two. It does have an approximately circular form, artificially enhanced by placement of stones around the banks in 1953 and 1954. The interior is, however, subdivided by sandstone rubble banks. Possible entrances to the enclosure can be seen where large stones are upright next to a break in the associated rubble bank. There is a short stretch of facing stones visible on the internal side of the bank in the south east arc of the enclosure. Outside the enclosure, but attached to and extending from it on the south and north sides, are further stony banks. The bank on the north side is 3m long and 2m wide, and the bank on the south side is 15m long and 3m wide. These stretches of bank are included in the monument, as they are directly associated with the main enclosure. The enclosure and attached external walls are part of a wider complex of remains in this area of moor. The most obvious remains are those of other linear banks which perhaps defined field systems associated with the Soldier's Trench enclosure. As the full nature and extent of these further features are not yet fully understood, they are not included in the scheduling. Included in this monument is a cup marked stone which is embedded in the bank in the south west side of the main subcircular enclosure. This rock is a gritstone boulder with 4 or 5 shallow cups and one deeper cup, clustered on the eastern, higher end, of its upper surface.

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:

25257

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hedges, J D (ed), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, (1986), 108
Archaeology Group Bulletin in Archaeology Group Bulletin, Vol. 11/1, (1966), 1
Archaeology Group Bulletin in Archaeology Group Bulletin, (1954), 3

End of official list entry

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