Reasons for Designation
The Pennine uplands of northern England contain a wide variety of prehistoric
remains, including cairns, enclosures, carved rocks, settlements and field
systems. These are evidence of the widespread exploitation of these uplands
throughout later prehistory. During the last millennium BC a variety of
different types of enclosed settlements developed. These include hillforts,
which have substantial earthworks and are usually located on hilltops. Other
types of enclosed settlement of this period are less obviously defensive, as
they have less substantial earthworks and are usually in less prominent
positions. In the Pennines a number of late prehistoric enclosed settlements
survive as upstanding monuments. Where upstanding earthworks survive, the
settlements are between 0.4ha and 10ha in area, and are usually located on
ridges or hillside terraces. The enclosing earthworks are usually slight, most
consisting of a ditch with an internal bank, or with an internal and external
bank, but examples with an internal ditch and with no ditch are known. They
are sub-circular, sub-rectangular, or oval in shape. Few of these enclosed
settlements have been subject to systematic excavation, but they are thought
to date from between the Late Bronze Age to the Romano-British period (c.1000
BC-AD 400). Examples which have been excavated have presented evidence of
settlement. Some appear to have developed from earlier palisaded enclosures.
Unexcavated examples occasionally have levelled areas which may have contained
buildings, but a proportion may have functioned primarily as stock enclosures.
Enclosed settlements are a distinctive feature of the late prehistory of the
Pennine uplands, and are important in illustrating the variety of enclosed
settlement types which developed in many areas of Britain at this time.
Examples where a substantial proportion of the enclosed settlement survives
are considered to be nationally important.
The Roman period native settlement in Danefield Wood survives well. It may be
contemporary with a similar settlement site in nearby Poolscar Wood. It is
outside the region in which such settlements are thought typical, and thus
provides a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature and
distribution of Romano-British settlements in northern England.
Details
The monument includes a rubble-banked enclosure with several internal
subdivisions, and at least one hut circle. The enclosure is bisected by a
prehistoric bank running north-south, which continues for some distance north
of the enclosure. It is situated in Danefield Wood, near Otley, and is cut by
the modern east-west track through the wood.
The banks are composed of boulders with occasional smaller stones, and are
typically 2.5m-3m wide and up to 1m high. The bank forming the south west side
of the enclosure is fragmentary and less well-defined than the remainder.
South of the track on the east side of the north-south bank is a sub-circular
level area. Trial excavation by West Yorkshire Archaeology Service in 1996-97
confirmed this to be a hut circle.
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.
