Details

The monument includes the remains of a Romano-British enclosed settlement at
the foot of Whitcliffe Scar. It is situated on a slightly modified river
terrace high above the River Swale. The settlement commands views in both
directions along the valley.
The settlement includes two large rectangular enclosures with substantial
stone ramparts separated by a deep hollow way. The eastern enclosure measures
66m by 52m and is defined by substantial stone rubble ramparts between 5m and
11m wide at the base and up to 1.5m high. Built into the eastern rampart are
three circular chambers approximately 2.5m in diameter linked by a low passage
1.5m wide. In the northern part of the enclosure are low stone walls forming a
series of rectangular divisions and footings for buildings. There is an
entrance to the enclosure at the south west angle.
The western enclosure measures 77m by 52m. There is a rampart on the east side
up to 8.5m wide and 1.3m high. The other three sides have less substantial
stone walls 2m to 5m wide. Within this enclosure are two rectangular
sub-divisions on a slightly raised terrace in the north part, the stone
footings for a circular building 11m in diameter in the south east and traces
of a further oval building at the west side.
Both enclosures occupy the width of the terrace so the rear is against the
scree slope and front on the top edge of a short and steep slope. A stone and
earth wall extends along the base of this slope to the front of the east
enclosure then turns to join the west side of the hollow way.
The monument was an agricultural settlement which has been identified from
surface finds of pottery to have been occupied from the Iron Age into the late
Romano-British period. The remains demonstrate that the settlement included
rectangular buildings and round houses as well as enclosures used for
cultivation and stock keeping all surrounded by substantial ramparts.
To the east of the monument are a series of natural and modified hillocks and
shallow earthworks which are thought to be associated with later quarrying
activities on the scar. These features are not included in the monument.
The fence on the northern side of the monument and the field wall to the east
are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath both these
features is included.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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 monument survives well and significant evidence of the original form and
function will be preserved. The substantial ramparts were built on a scale
which reflected the status and prestige of their builders as well as offering
some defence. The monument is one of a number of similar late prehistoric and
Romano-British enclosures in the region and offers important scope for the
study of prehistoric life in the Yorkshire Dales.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Thubron S, FMW Sketch, (1979)
Title: The Yorkshire Dales Mapping Project
Source Date: 1995
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England