Late prehistoric enclosed settlement on Castle Hill, 550m north of Broadstone Lodge

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 late prehistoric enclosed settlement on Castle Hill survives well and contributes to the body of knowledge relating to late prehistoric settlement and land use in northern England.

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.

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:

31503

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Castle Hill, Yarwood, B, Castle Hill, (1996)

End of official list entry

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