Reasons for Designation
Scots Dyke is a linear earthwork extending for 14km from the River Swale to
the River Tees in North Yorkshire. Significant sections remain visible as
upstanding earthworks and indicate that the dyke system had an earthen
rampart flanked on the eastern side by a ditch. Where not preserved as an
upstanding monument, the dyke is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs
and elswhere often survives as a low bank beneath present field boundaries. It
was constructed in the post Roman period and encloses an area in the eastern
foothills of the Pennines between the two rivers. This area contained wealthy
arable and pastoral land as well as some of the mineral resources of the
northern Pennines. Linear earthworks were used to divide territory for
military, social, economic and political purposes, often using natural
features such as rivers and watersheds to define an area. Scots Dyke was built
to consolidate territorial and economic units in response to changing
political circumstances during the sixth and seventh centuries AD. These were
brought about, at least in part, by the arrival of the Anglians in northern
England. Fewer than 50 examples of linear earthworks of post Roman date have
been identified in England. As a rare monument type of considerable importance
to the study of early medieval territorial patterns, all surviving examples
are identified as being of national importance. Although reduced by
agricultural activity, this section of Scots Dyke will retain significant
archeological remains and offers important information about the development
of the landscape in the post Roman period.
Details
The monument is a section of the linear earthwork known as Scots Dyke lying
300m south east of High Wood. It includes a ditch and low scarp slope
incorporated into a field terrace, which extends north to south for 30m, and a
further 150m where the dyke has been reduced by agricultural activity
and, although it is no longer visible as an earthwork, can be seen as a
cropmark. At the northern end the ditch is 4m wide and the bank to the west is
5m wide and up to 1.3m high. Where the monument survives as buried remains it
is up to 12m wide. At the north end of the monument, the dyke cannot be
identified for a further 50m but then is preserved as an earthwork where it is
the subject of a separate scheduling. To the south the dyke is truncated by a
road and cannot be identified for 2.3km, but then reappears as a feature
identifiable on aerial photographs and is the subject of a separate
scheduling.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
26949
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
