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.
Details
The monument includes a late prehistoric enclosed settlement, situated on
Denby Common, on the south side of Windmill Lane, at the south edge of a
plateau.
The enclosure survives as an upstanding earthwork on the south west and west
sides. On the south west side this takes the form of a substantial bank,
following the top of the natural scarp. Because of this scarp, the bank is
about 0.6m high on its north east side, but has a drop of approximately 4m on
its south west side. There are several small quarry holes at the base of this
slope, which obscure any evidence for a ditch. The west side of the enclosure
is formed by a bank approximately 10m wide and 0.3m high, with an external
ditch about 5m wide and up to 0.3m deep.
The upstanding remains of the rest of the enclosure have been flattened by
ploughing in the past, but the edges of the enclosure are just traceable as a
slight break of slope on the north side and a very faint bank on the east
side. The south side of the enclosure is marked by the edge of the scarp.
During fieldwalking in the 1970s approximately 90 Neolithic flints were found.
This suggests that the site may have earlier prehistoric antecedents.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31503
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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
