Section of cross ridge dyke and hollow way 200m north west of Pond Head Farm

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.

This section of cross dyke is preserved as a prominent earthwork forming a clear division across the landscape. Significant remains are preserved which will retain information about the original form and function of the earthwork and offer important scope for the study of the division of land for social, ritual and agricultural purposes in the prehistoric period. Information on the cross dyke's relationship to the hollow way will also be preserved.

Details

The monument includes a section of prehistoric cross ridge dyke extending for 130m north to south, crossed by a medieval hollow way. The dyke has two parallel ditches with a central bank and further banks on the outside. The ditches of the double earthwork are between 4m and 5m wide and up to 2m deep. The central bank is up to 10m wide and outer banks 10m each in width. The hollow way extends for 160m east to west and is 20m wide and up to 8m deep where it cuts the dyke, but becomes progressively shallower as it rises onto higher ground to the east. To the north the dyke is truncated by the road but continues again 22m beyond this section where it is the subject of a separate scheduling.

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:

26974

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
McElvaney, M, Howardian Hills AONB Historic Environment Study, (1994)

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