In the footsteps of Legionaries

Graham Lee – Archaeological Officer

Roman Forts and Camps are to be found throughout England, Wales and Scotland as evidence of the Roman occupation of Britain from AD43 until the early years of the 5^th Century. Sites of some of the major forts can be found within and underlying some of our main towns and cities, such as York, Chester and Lincoln in the north of England, showing the focus of their original Roman settlement. The forts and camps are generally connected by the lines of Roman roads, many of which have been followed as main routes for communication ever since. Roman camps lie along these roads, marking both the lines of military campaigns and the distance covered each day since a fortification would be built at the end of each day’s march. Although only defended, primarily, by banks and ditches, many of these marching camps have survived as earthworks, as well as being known from cropmarks, when plough-levelled, to indicate their former presence. The camps are recognised by their distinctive ‘playing-card’ shapes, a rectangle with rounded corners, with entrances in each side to allow rapid deployment of the Roman forces in any direction.

If you travel north from Pickering to the edge of the Tabular Hills, you will discover a remarkable series of surviving Roman earthworks first excavated early in the last century – now known as Cawthorn Camps  One of the most important groups of archaeological remains within the North York Moors, these banks, mounds and ditches represent a pair of Roman forts, both with several phases of occupation, defined by massive ramparts and large ditches, together with one unusual temporary camp which has a squashed and elongated form, lying between them, built over 1,900 years ago. The shape, and lesser earthworks (presumably supplemented by at least a line of sharpened stakes), of the temporary camp, known as C, indicates that it was subsidiary to the fort (D) to its west, leaving a clear space to the east where fort A (later enlarged with annexe B) was subsequently built.

As well as its unusual shape, camp C lies in a strange position for a military fortification. Its northern rampart does not lie along the northern scarp edge of the Tabular Hills, some 35m to its north, which would be the strongest defensive position, and it is also sited very close to fort D, to its immediate west. They lie so close together that when Fort D was re-fortified or re-occupied with the addition of a second outer ditch, the latter cut through camp C’s defences, showing that by then it was no longer in use. Although connected to the eastern entrance into fort D by a narrow entrance in its north west corner (just 20m apart), camp C is also distinguished by having all its main entrances within the line of its eastern defences which is very unusual.

LiDAR © Environment Agency 2019.

The earthworks of these three entrances survive very well which help us to understand how they would have functioned. Known as of external clavicula-type (clavicula means “key” in Latin), it can be seen that an advance towards the entrance would force attackers to approach the gateway from its right (from the attackers’ point of view), exposing their less protected right-hand sides to the Roman defenders, since right-handed warriors would tend to hold their shield in their left hands.

Although the history of Roman Britain is quite well understood, there is still much about the Roman occupation of the North York Moors to be discovered. How long was this site occupied and by which units? Why were they there? Were the Romans involved in a series of military campaigns or was this more of a policing exercise? – local control by intimidation? Was the site re-used / re-occupied after the soldiers had left? A joint project by English Heritage (now Historic England) and the National Park Authority, involving two seasons of excavation in 1999 and 2000, has been seeking to clarify some of these issues.

The camps are owned and managed by the National Park Authority. Because of the encroaching nature of trees, scrub and weeds, regular management is required to control vegetation and tree growth which would otherwise mask and cause harm to the sensitive earthworks. Much of this work is done by the Authority’s dedicated volunteers. Recently, the Conservation Volunteers have been pulling up and cutting back saplings, seedlings and brambles – this makes it easier to see and appreciate the archaeology in the landscape. The group will be revisiting the site in 2020 to continue this ongoing task – thank you for all your hard work!

Cawthorn Camps are open permanently and are partly wheelchair accessible. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the well-marked trail that runs around the site to try to avoid too much damage from excessive footfall to parts of the vulnerable and sensitive earthwork archaeological remains.

Tending our heritage

Jo Collins – Monuments for the Future Volunteers and Community Officer

Our Monuments for the Future project is focused on protecting and conserving the hundreds of Scheduled Monuments in the North York Moors. We work with volunteers, community groups, organisations and landowners, whose support and collaboration is, as usual, invaluable.

An amazing 169 Scheduled Monuments in the National Park were visited by volunteers and community groups in 2019. This means we can have an accurate record of the condition of the protected archaeology in the National Park and it’s the first step in organising works to conserve and repair monuments where this is needed.

We’re very grateful for the help of several local community groups who have stepped forward to look after their nearby monuments. Appleton le Moors History Group and Thornton le Dale Hub are now looking after the medieval wayside crosses in their villages, the Great Ayton History Society are tackling bracken in the field (see below), whilst several walking groups have volunteered to keep an eye on particular monuments close to Rights of Way. If you are part of a community group and might be interested in helping please do get in touch, we would love to hear from you.

Practical work tasks are sometimes needed to clear damaging vegetation or repair monuments – always with relevant permissions. Recently the Conservation Volunteer Group have helped clear scrub and bash bracken at Fall Rigg prehistoric dyke, Cawthorn Roman camps, and Roulston Scar Iron Age fort to name a few.

Other times we’ve needed just a few volunteers to help with tasks; for example at Cloughton Dyke where a bike jump had been constructed in the prehistoric earthwork. Two of our expert volunteers led the task to very neatly repair the damage. These kinds of practical tasks not only preserve our archaeology but often make monuments easier for people to see and appreciate in the landscape. This can make for a very satisfying end to practical task days!

Scheduled Monuments are at risk from many things, not least the growth of bracken, gorse and young trees as well as natural and human erosion. Volunteer and community help has helped ‘rescue’ three monuments in 2019, they have been taken off Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register.

The 18^th century Ayton Banks Alum Works near Great Ayton (List Entry 1020347) has been taken off the Heritage at Risk Register. At this site during the 1760s and 1770s alum was extracted from shale rock in a process involving burning, leaching, boiling, and crystallising. Alum was used to treat leather, fix dyes in fabric, and also had medicinal value including as a treatment for nits. Today the earthwork remains of the clamps, reservoirs and stone lined cisterns are best viewed safely from the path above. However the vigorous bracken growth in the summer completely obscures the historic features and is very likely disturbing the below ground archaeology too. Great Ayton History Society are working with National Park volunteers to tackle the bracken; the Young Ranger Group and Conservation Volunteer Group did sterling work this summer and have offered to do so again in 2020, thank you all!

A round barrow at Codhill Heights on Gisborough Moor has been ‘rescued’ and is now off the Heritage at Risk Register (List Entry 1016574). A modern walkers’ cairn located on top of the Bronze Age burial mound was encouraging visitors to inadvertently damage the archaeology. Two intrepid volunteers visited the hill top burial mound twice a year for several years to check on the damage. The walkers’ cairn was removed by a team of volunteers and apprentices on a wintry day two years ago, and in 2018 and 2019 volunteers scattered moorland grass seed on the bare ground exposed by removing the stones – the resulting grass will help protect against natural erosion. A previous blog has more information about the interesting work and new find at this site.

Cock Howe is a bronze age round barrow on the western edge of Bilsdale (List Entry 1015761). Footpath erosion was damaging the monument and this has now been repaired by contractors; volunteer surveyors monitored the progression of the erosion before the work took place, and a recent volunteer visit has shown the monument to be in good shape. This work means that the burial mound is no longer deemed to be ‘At Risk’.

Its not all good news, in 2019 another eight North York Moors monuments were added to the Heritage At Risk Register. One of these is Cockan Cross (List Entry 1011747) on Farndale Moor. During a condition survey our volunteer surveyor found that the shaft of the cross has now split into two pieces. We think this was caused by natural erosion and hope to make a high quality record of the cross shaft using photogrammetry (3D scanning) to help with its future conservation.

We’re not downhearted. Watch this space for an update on progress with more of these At Risk monuments in months to come.

All the volunteers for the Monuments for the Future project do a huge amount of work – I haven’t been able to mention it all here. Your help is very much appreciated and we’d like to say a huge THANK YOU to the volunteers and community groups who are helping safeguard the protected heritage of the North York Moors.

Goodbye to all that

This gallery contains 13 photos.

Kim Devereux-West – Land of Iron Cultural Heritage Assistant It’s that time already; my two year contract with the Land of Iron is almost over! With only a few days left on the clock I wanted to take a moment to … Continue reading →

Leaving a mark

Graham Lee – Archaeological Officer

‘Rock Art’ in archaeological terms consists of markings made by human beings on exposed stone surfaces. The earliest rock art from around the world has been dated to between 10,000-50,000 years ago, whereas within the North York Moors National Park the rock art appears to belong to the time span between the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age periods, approximately 3,200-1,500 BC. Motifs created by carving were made into the rock surface using a sharp tool with a ‘pecking’ technique and can range in complexity from simple cups and grooves to quite elaborate patterns. The cup marks (sometimes enclosed by an outer groove – then called cup and ring marks, Fig. 1) tend to be shallow, semi-spherical hollows between c.3-12 cms across, with the depth generally proportional to the diameter, depending on the amount of surface erosion that may have occurred.

Fig. 1 (above): Cup and ring marks on a heavily marked rock on Fylingdales Moor. Two roughly pecked rings can be seen coming together in the centre-right of the image.

The main concentration of prehistoric rock art within the North York Moors National Park lies within Fylingdales Moor which was affected by a wildfire in 2003. Survey after the fire has significantly increased the known resource (as previously recorded by the local rock art experts and enthusiasts) by over 60% – from approximately 120 sites to over 200. Given that the wildfire affected just over half (c.250 out of c.480 hectares) of this surviving area of coastal moorland (north-east of the A171), and that the latter in total only forms a small proportion of the overall Fylingdales moorland block, the full extent of the distribution of carved rocks in the area probably still remains to be discovered. Some of the carvings appear so fresh that it is thought that they are likely to have become completely buried in prehistory, to then be revealed anew by the wildfire. Such a site is probably that represented by a site on Brow Moor (Figs. 2-3), which was discovered under burnt vegetation in October 2003 and provides an example of excellent preservation. The individual peck-marks which form the decorative markings in the stone can still clearly be seen.

Fig. 2 (above) and Fig. 3 (below): A remarkably ‘fresh’ carving on Brow Moor, as discovered in 2003 and after a few years regenerative growth. Note the level of surviving detail, including the individual peck-marks.

The heat of the wild fire resulted in damage to some of the rocks by causing the surface of the stone to crack and flake away (known as spalling, Fig. 4). In addition to this, the chemistry of the stone may also have been irreversibly altered, affecting the cements that hold the rock particles together. This can influence the subsequent absorption of moisture which, due to freeze/thaw action during winter, can cause further spalling. The loss of covering material, such as the layers of roots and peat which had grown over the rock surfaces, also appears to have left the carved rocks more vulnerable to disturbance and erosion.

Fig. 4 (above): Spalling damage to a rock on Fylingdales Moor, caused by heat generated from the wildfire. Clearly this can lead to irreversible damage to any surviving rock art.

All the known examples of rock art on Fylingdales Moor appear to be carved into the local middle Jurassic Dogger series sandstone. Many of these rocks are likely to have been exposed to the elements – to weathering and biological attack – for well over 4,000 years. During this period of time it is likely that other wildfire events will have occurred, together with fires set deliberately for land management purposes. The latter will have increased within the last 150-200 years as part of grouse moor heather management  but in recent decades management for wildlife, rather than grouse shooting, has become the priority on this estate. Controlled burning is designed to cause minimal heat and damage, however it may still – depending on the chemistry of the rocks in question, and the nature of the ‘burn’ – cause some negative impacts to the prehistoric carvings.

In order to tackle the potential future loss of detail to these sites, a range of recording techniques and practices have been employed. The Fylingdale Moor sites have all been recorded by local experts and enthusiasts (see Brown and Chappell 2005), but in particular a group of 26 carved rocks were chosen for monitoring in order to provide a baseline record of condition against which to assess erosion and damage in future years. These have all been recorded by stereoscopic photography by Historic England, with a further group of 12 laser scanned at 0.5mm resolution.

Accurate location is also an essential part of site management, due to the difficulties of relocating sites on large areas of open (often rather ‘featureless’) moorland where long heather or other dense vegetation has developed. In the last few decades practical management has tended to become more mechanical with the use of rotating chain flail cutters attached to tractors, both to create fire breaks and to harvest the heather, which is sometimes baled and used e.g. as an environmental filter. It is consequently of particular importance to know the precise location of all the rock art panels to ensure that potential damage does not accidentally occur.

Many of the examples of rock art on Fylingdales Moor are protected as Scheduled Monuments. As part of our work under Monuments for the Future, and previously under the Monument Management Scheme, we send volunteers out to make regular monitoring visits to check on monument condition – however it is not always easy to find the correct rocks! In some areas bracken has been a problem, not only damaging other archaeological features, such as Bronze Age burial mounds, which may be associated with the rock art but obscuring the rocks making them difficult to find and therefore vulnerable to accidental damage. Over the last few years we have worked with Natural England and the managers of Fylingdales Moor to ensure that appropriate bracken control has kept some of these features clear of vegetation.

Further Reading
Brown, P. M. and Chappell, G. 2005 Prehistoric Rock Art in the North York Moors, Tempus, Stroud
Vyner, B. E. 2007a Fylingdales Wildfire and Archaeology, North York Moors National Park.

How to be an archaeologist…

Sara Goodridge – Land of Iron Archaeological Finds Intern

This summer I have been granted the privilege of working with the Heritage Fund‘s Land of Iron Landscape Partnership as an Archaeological Finds Intern, through the Santander Internship Programme at Durham University. The internship has provided a unique opportunity to not only learn all about the inner workings of community archaeology but also to expand my knowledge of the beautiful North York Moors National Park and its industrial heritage.

When the email advertising the post of intern landed in my inbox, I was intrigued, I knew nothing about archaeology other than what I’d seen on the television and in text books but I knew I wanted to learn more. As a student of History rather than Archaeology my knowledge of what the internship would involve was very limited to say the least, despite this I decided to go for it – after all if you don’t try you don’t achieve. However, I felt my desire to learn may not be enough to secure me the position so I turned to the North York Moors National Park website for some much needed research. It is here that my journey began as a volunteer. Having followed the registration process I signed up for the day hoping for a crash course in how to be an archaeologist in time for my intern interview the following week.

I arrived eagerly at a car park in the middle of the moors ready to learn all about archaeological recording. As it turned out the welcome was incredibly friendly and I was expertly guided through a whistle stop tour of archaeological contexts and features. This very first day’s volunteering introduced me to the friendly approach taken by all involved in the Land of Iron Partnership and from that moment on I was hooked. The site of my first ever archaeological experience was at the former Rosedale Railway and inspired the Historian in me to find out more.

Rosedale saw rapid development in the later part of the 19^th century due to ironstone mining. By 1861 the Rosedale Railway had been built, with the additional Rosedale East Railway branch completed in 1865, in order to export the iron ore north to Teesside and County Durham. An estimated 11 million tons of iron ore was removed from Rosedale. The opening of the Rosedale Railway way was documented in the Newcastle Journal on the 19 April 1862, and describes the importance of the railway coming to Rosedale;

“The opening of the North Eastern Company’s branch line to Rosedale, by the vice-chairman, George Leeman, Esq., and the directors, took place at Rosedale on Wednesday.  Early in the forenoon a large party arrived by special train from the northy, including the directors of the company and many of the iron masters, and other distinguished persons connected with the great iron trade of cleveland and the district…  After inspecting, with delight and astonishment, the Rosedale Mining Companiy’s magnificent quarries and mines of magnetic ore, the whole party retired to the Crown Inn, Rosedale Abbey, where an excellent dinner awaited them”.
(Extract transcribed by Linda Cummings)

The experience of that volunteering confirmed my desire to learn more about archaeology and made me want to secure the position of intern even more. Luckily my interview for the position was a success! In the meantime I didn’t have to wait long to volunteer again as the Land of Iron community excavation at Combs Wood this summer provided me with the opportunity to not just learn about archaeology from the side of a trench but to actually get in and start digging myself. Over the two week period that the excavation ran I volunteered for a couple of days each week. In these days the knowledge I gained was immense I learned everything from the complexities of measured drawing to the correct use of a trowel. The approach on site, that no question was a silly question, meant that I spent my whole time learning.

Due to my experiences volunteering before my internship had even started I had learned valuable skills and felt ready to take on the finds processing role. Along with my fellow intern Louis we’ve now spent the last five weeks engaging with and learning from the finds that have been discovered across the numerous archaeological sites within the Land of Iron. Louis’s recent blog, The Everyday, the Intriguing and the Odd shows some of the more unique and interesting finds that have crossed our desk so far and is a must read for anyone who wants to find out more about some of these finds.

The industrial heritage of the North York Moors National Park has become a new found fascination for me, in particular the material culture of the Victorians has certainly sparked some interesting conversations between myself and Louis as well as with volunteers during our task days. So much so that I have decided to use the subject for my dissertation when I return to university for my third and final year at Durham in October. The knowledge I’ve gained so far during my time as an intern has been invaluable however it is only the beginning of my research.

If, like me, you have a desire to learn more about the Land of Iron there is an upcoming Heritage Open Days on 15 September with a walk and talk through the incredible ironstone industry (Grosmont to Esk Valley). For more information and to book tickets visit the National Park website.

The Everyday, the Intriguing and the Odd

Louis Monntero – Land of Iron Archaeological Finds Intern

This summer I have been granted the privilege of working with the Heritage Fund‘s Land of Iron Landscape Partnership as an Archaeological Finds Intern, through the Santander Internship Programme at Durham University.

My internship deals with the processing of small and bulk finds from the community excavations conducted over the last few years (Combs Wood, Goathland, etc.). I have a range of responsibilities: cleaning, marking, labelling, documenting, and photographing so that the finds are ready for both display and archive with the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum. I am also responsible for leading the training of any volunteers we have for these tasks.

The volunteers during my internship thus far have been fantastic, and I’m always impressed by their dedication towards the project. Contrary to my belief that they would only be interested in the excavation side of archaeology, we have a multitude of volunteers offering their services for just about any task you can imagine.

Post-excavation finds processing can be long work at times, but that’s not to say that it isn’t rewarding, as I have learned first-hand. All the finds from years past end up on the desks of myself and my fellow intern, Sara. Over these past few weeks, we have seen both the every day as well as the more intriguing (and occasionally the odd).

Today, I’d like to share some of my personal favourites with you.

The Everyday

Perhaps some of the most interesting items to come from the excavations have emerged from Goathland Incline.

In order to overcome the steep incline between Beck Hole and Goathland, over which horses were unable to haul locomotives, Whitby and Pickering Railway installed a hydraulic lift. The abandoned reservoir from this system was later used as a a rubbish dump by locals, and it was from here that we’ve had most of our finds, as well as some of the most well-preserved glassware and pottery.

It may not look like much at first glance, but this salt or pepper cellar quickly became one of the things that I became intrigued by. Instead of the presence of a logo or some other feature, embossed upon the base is the word ‘foreign’.

My initial thought was that this was likely for economic purposes, ruling out the label as a means to denote this as a prestige good. The main parallel that this drew for me was with country of origin markings used to impose tariffs (e.g. ‘Made in China’). Perhaps this was from a period which predated a requirement to list the specific country of origin.

The Intriguing

Let me first defend myself in my choice of this item. Those who are familiar with Victorian archaeology will immediately note that this is a poison bottle, which is not that uncommon a find. Poison bottles were primarily green, but they could also be a range of colours from a deep blue like this, to clear, or even a brown. The green was supposed to immediately stand out and warn any would-be drinkers about the contents; however, there were some other safety precautions as well. Embossed upon the side of the bottles are usually some variation of the words ‘NOT TO BE TAKEN’ or ‘POISONOUS’. Should that too be missed, bottles were made to feel poisonous; they characteristically had “ribs”, either vertically or horizontally.

So why did I pick this item? Well, at Goathland Incline, the reservoir was used as a rubbish pit for some time. As I was sifting through some of the finds, I noted the similarities between the colourful glasswork of the Victorian Era as well as that of the 1900s, when a variety of glasswork known as “carnival glass” increased in popularity. It was surprising to me that such bottle colours became destigmatised in such a short period of time. Indeed, carnival glass, with its bright colours, was often highly sought after, being awarded as prizes at fairs and carnivals, leading to its name.

The Odd

This was probably one of the most bizarre finds that I have come across thus far. The design itself is not a popular one; however, more interesting is the level of detail that was applied in its creation.

Upon closer inspection, the face was found to feature many smaller details such as hair and ears (when viewed from the side), jawline, and the philtrum (the little cleft underneath your nose). The use of colour; blue for the eyes, black for the eyelashes, and red for the cheeks; all further display the thought that went into the design of this object.

Perhaps this find was purchased humorously as an unwanted gift, as it is still largely intact. Perhaps it was thrown out as the individual who purchased it grew out of their previous tastes. I’m hoping to look more into this sort of pottery later on.

All of these finds were simple enough to prepare for archive, as we tend to avoid marking the glassware as well as the glazed pottery, removing an extra step from the process. Nonetheless, we needed to both photograph the profile of this glassware, as well as the base to ensure all of the key features were visually recorded. This was to allow for the creation of a digital archive, so that researchers might be able to remotely access the collection.

Overall, I’m enjoying my time here. I’ve learned new skills and can carry out tasks safely, efficiently, and independently. I’ve been able to handle a range of artefacts with differing properties, and have been taught how to process them. It’s a pleasure to work with the Land of Iron team, and especially with the volunteers and the local community, who always take a friendly interest in what we’re doing.

For more information on the Land of Iron please see our webpages, email us or phone on 01439 772700.

Standing up for standing stones

Nick Mason – Archaeology Officer

In the last couple of Monuments for the Future inspired blogs, we’ve looked at the hillforts and barrows of the North York Moors. This time we’ll ponder another monument type which often springs to mind when we think of prehistoric archaeology visible in the landscape today: standing stones.

The North York Moors has an abundance of stones set upright in the ground for various reasons. Not all of these stones are prehistoric: indeed the Historic Environment Record records 161 individual stones across the park recorded as ‘standing stones’, of which 129 are of likely prehistoric origin. But there are a further 1459 monuments recorded as ‘boundary stones’ with a medieval or later explanation. The distinction between standing stone and boundary stone is not always completely clear, as we shall see below, but these figures do mean that erected stones of one sort or another account for approximately 8.5% of all recorded monuments in the North York Moors. Let’s not even think about the number of historic gateposts out there…

People started to erect standing stones across the country in the late Neolithic period (2500-3000 BC), and carried on doing so up to the end of the Bronze Age around 700 BC. Like much of prehistoric archaeology, it can be very hard to know what was going on and to impose definitions on these big lumps of rock. Sometimes multiple stones are used in conjunction to create circles (often referred to as henges) or other shapes, or long rows stretching hundreds of metres, and then others stand alone. But why were people doing this?

It’s a long running joke in archaeology that if we don’t understand the function of a feature then it must be part of a long forgotten ritual, but for many surviving prehistoric features it seems that that is the most likely explanation. Some stones are associated with other features, such as a large slab next to a bridleway over Danby Rigg which forms part of a cairn under which Victorian archaeologists found deposited urns. Others accompany barrows, pits or stone-lined chambers. The common theme so far is death and burial: were people using standing stones to mark the spots belonging to the dead? were they a commemoration, in the same way we use gravestones and memorials today? or perhaps the stone warned others not to get too close…

Whilst many stones may have been raised to honour the dead or perform ritual practices around, others may have had a more mundane but useful purpose. If you’ve been out and about on the moors you’ll know how disorientating they can be, especially in bad weather. The last thing you want to do is get lost and stumble into someone’s barrow, and so we think some stones might have been erected as way markers, as a familiar point in the landscape to meet at or to help get you home.

Over time, some stones gathered cup and ring marks, and people buried items around them. These stones might be crossing the gap between the sacred and the profane, a physical object people can relate to, but which represents far more than the sum of its parts.

I mentioned at the start that there is not a clear distinction between some standing stones and modern boundaries. Some continue to have a function today, having been re-used by people looking to make their mark. A great example is the Cammon Stone, which stands on the parish boundary between Bransdale and Farndale West. This was initially erected on the watershed by prehistoric inhabitants of the area, perhaps marking a territorial boundary or route. At some point in the post-medieval period letters were carved into it, proclaiming the land ownership to anyone who came past. Then in the 19^th century someone wrote ‘Hallelujah’ on it, followed by the Ordnance Survey who inscribed a survey benchmark into the base! So over the years the Cammon Stone has served as a boundary symbol for different cultures, in multiple religious functions, and as part of the very modern practice of mapping.

 

Another stone which might represent different sacred uses is Low Cross, just north of Appleton-le-Moors. This curious piece of limestone, with a hole cut right through it, started life as a large prehistoric stone, but was transformed into a wayside cross by some enterprising mediaeval person. It probably served a very similar function in this role, reminding people of their religion and marking out a safe route. Since then it has fallen apart, a plaque seems to have come and gone, and it’s thought the hole might have been used to pay tolls, but it remains in place today as a lasting reminder of the people who once lived there. A 3D model of Low Cross today can be seen here – Low Cross standing stone by Nick Mason Archaeology on Sketchfab

All of this is why standing stones are so exciting to archaeologists – they stand in place today as physical emblems of the prehistoric, when so little else of those people remains. That’s why any examples which are in good condition are likely to be protected as Scheduled Monuments. All of those mentioned in the text here are Scheduled, and as solid as they may seem, sometimes they need some work to look after them. Unstable ground, visitor numbers, even cattle can cause a stone to become threatened. Work was recently carried out to reinstate one of the Newgate Foot stones which had fallen over. This project restored the collection of stones (which might be a small henge monument) closer to what they originally looked like. This is a more complex operation than it sounds, as the ground had to be carefully prepared and excavated to ensure that deposits which might give us valuable dating evidence were not being disturbed.

A similar operation was carried out on Wade’s Stone near Lythe, a monument with giant-related folklore ascribed to it.

If you’d like to see some archaeology and take in a breath of fresh air there are many popular walks around the North York Moors which pass close to prehistoric monuments as they run along the higher ground. As ever, you can always find out more about the fascinating past of the North York Moors using our interactive Historic Environment Record map, so why not find your closest monument and pay a visit. The Monuments for the Future project is always on the look-out for monuments at risk, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think a standing stone needs some attention. You can always volunteer with the National Park if you’d like to help with conserving our monuments.

From strength to strength

Note from Maria (Land of Iron Cultural Heritage Officer) – Through the Land of Iron Landscape Partnership Scheme we’ve organised a number of historic building volunteer events ranging from lime mortar workshops to surveying. One of our volunteers was Dr Ian Wyre who has a PhD from Northumbria University as part of the Virtual Medieval Newcastle project. Ian attended almost every task and demonstrated high potential and a strong background. Because of this he was selected to attend a week’s training event with Historic England and subsequently undertook initial surveying alongside core staff ahead of conservation works. From then Ian has gone from strength to strength and gained a hard sought after position with an archaeological consultancy. So we at the Land of Iron could not be more proud – we wish him well on what will undoubtedly be a successful career ahead.

Ian very kindly agreed to write about his time volunteering and to share his enthusiasm…

Dr Ian Wyre – one time North York Moors Volunteer now Historic Buildings Officer with Archaeological Research Services Ltd

Since living in the north east I had always been on the doorstep of the North York Moors, however it was a place you would visit only for day trips and holidays. A Facebook post calling for heritage volunteers for help with This Exploited Land of Iron project has given me a new, lasting connection with the National Park and its unique heritage.

At the time I had found myself long-term un-employed and, as many people find out, this can become isolating and significantly affect your overall wellbeing. I grew up with language and other neurological difficulties which had also come to the fore at this point in my life. At this time, re-starting any sort of career seemed out of reach; there was a lot I thought couldn’t do and any change seemed overwhelming. The Facebook post however, came across as something I could do. It was an invitation to be involved with historic building conservation of the industrial monuments found throughout the ‘Land of Iron’ area, the North York Moors.

Through the support of the project, guided by its Cultural Heritage Officer, Maria, my volunteering offered a varied sets of tasks encompassing a wide scope of heritage skills, arranged around the National Lottery funded Landscape Partnership Scheme project.  It was all built on a practical, hands-on and welcoming basis (something necessary for me at that point!), open to all ages and abilities, set in the stunning National Park.

Joining the project, within months I had learnt to repair with lime mortar through to high tech laser-scanning of historic structures. A highlight for me that summer was the archaeological dig at Goathland Incline. Within the trench I worked in were foundations continuing below almost a metre and a half depth from the surface. The team of enthusiastic and hardworking volunteers and staff had found the substantial remains of stone walls for the engine house, as well the wagon turntable, with which to piece together the previously little known history of the site. The dig took place with visits from many a walker along the old track bed and the sound of steam trains from the nearby North York Moors Railway, aspects which all added to the experience.  Another highlight has been contributing to the Historic Building Recording with Kim, the project’s Cultural Heritage Assistant. Some of this included survey of the enormous ruins for the iron kilns lining the sides of the stunning Rosedale valley. These contrast to the human scale of the workers cottages which help to tell an almost disappeared social story of the area.

For me, primarily, the project has added to the tapestry of the stunning North York Moors landscape. The remnants of the immense and historic ironstone industry scattered amongst the peaceful, green and idyllic landscape feeds the imagination. Seemingly not so long ago, the sky was orange and black from the ever-burning furnaces which roared above the clatter and squeal of railway trucks. The conservation the project has achieved of the archaeological remains will keep this rich industrial history for generations to discover for years to come.  For me, the project also enabled a step to finding work with an archaeology company. I have been a historic buildings project officer for a year now. Even when the work was difficult the hands-on skills the project brought me form the day-to-day basis of my role. This Exploited Land of Iron truly forged links for me and others with the North York Moors National Park and its important heritage.

If you want to get involved with the Land of Iron or might be interested in any other volunteer opportunities please contact our Volunteer Service.

Moor mounds

Ellie Leary – Monuments for the Future Project Officer

Welcome to the latest instalment of our blog celebrating the archaeology of the North York Moors. As the newest member of the Monuments for the Future Team I should probably take this opportunity to introduce myself as a new Project Officer. I started out in professional archaeology 20 years ago, working in a variety of roles, mostly in the field, although the last few years have been spent providing archaeological advice to local authorities. Previously I mainly knew the North York Moors through holidays, but now I can really immerse myself in this beautiful landscape and its wonderful archaeology.

Since moving here I’ve spent every spare moment pouring over OS Explorer maps of the area and planning trips. If you’ve ever done this you might have seen the words ‘tumulus’, ‘tumuli’ or ‘cairn’ frequently dotted across them. Marked in the spidery Gothic script used to mark archaeological remains, a tumulus or cairn refers to a mound (either of earth or stone respectively). Many of those marked will be Bronze Age burial mounds known as round barrows or round cairns. Another way to spot these archaeological features on your map is by names, such as Cock Howe or Three Howes – Howe is an Old Norse word for a mound or barrow.

Round barrows or cairns typically date to the Bronze Age, with the large majority constructed between 4000 to 3500 years ago (2000 – 1500 BCE). They can vary quite widely in size, and come in a few different types, but the most common type you are likely to encounter will have a mound shaped like an inverted bowl, constructed from earth and/or stone which cover single or multiple burials (inhumations or cremations), with the mound sometimes originally surrounded by a circular ditch.

These evocative monuments would have been clearly visible in their day and are found in prominent positions. Such clearly visible features would have acted as commemorative and territorial landmarks, but also had significant social and cosmological meaning. They may also have been way markers, tracing out ancient routeways.

This visibility also means that these monuments have attracted attention through the following millennia, drawing people to them. We can see this in their re-use, for example the medieval and later cross at Ana Cross on Spaunton Moor below.

Here antiquarian digging in later centuries has left distinctive indentations on the summit and sides, and then there are the modern walkers cairns. Our modern curiosity frequently results in inadvertent erosion, as numerous feet make their way onto the summit along the same route.

Very occasionally we have the opportunity to look inside a round barrow. Excavations in 2011 through the round barrow within Boltby Scar hillfort showed that the mound had been constructed in several phases, one of which included the ring of stone rubble visible below.

Many barrows are mapped and marked as tumuli on the OS Explorer, but this really only scratches the surface of the actual number found within the North York Moors. Round barrows make up a substantial proportion (the majority in fact) of the Scheduled Monuments in the National Park, with a total of 541 of the area’s monuments including at least one round barrow or round cairn (64%of the total). A further 680 unscheduled barrows are recorded within the North York Moors Historic Environment Record. Some of the unscheduled barrows are visible earthworks, but many are only indicated by very slight rises in the ground or as cropmarks spotted in aerial photographs.

Current issues affecting round barrows and cairns include erosion, bracken or scrub growth and walkers cairns. A previous blog post highlighted the issue of walkers cairns and the work we were doing under the Monument Management Scheme (MMS). Now Monuments for the Future  is continuing this work, as well as helping to preserve some of the more eroded or overgrown barrows, and monitoring their ongoing condition.

We will also be carrying out research into the survival of below ground remains of round barrows under arable cultivation. Some barrows may have been under the plough for centuries so there may be very little to see on the surface now, but burials and other features may survive – our challenge is to find out what lies under the plough soil and determine the best techniques to record remains and preserve them for the future.

With so many round barrows and cairns across the North York Moors, you are never too far away from one. Look out for mounds on the horizon as you travel across the moorland, or you might come across one at closer quarters. Try finding some of these:

Sworn defenders of the Historic Environment

Nick Mason – Archaeology Officer

You might have seem our recent post on the beginning of our new Monuments for the Future project, caring for the Scheduled Monuments in the North York Moors. Over the nine previous years of the Historic England funded Monument Management Scheme we were able to reduce the ‘At  Risk’ status of 212 of our monuments. We are wanting to build on that success and move forward with Monuments for the Future which is being supported by another generous grant from Historic England.

Since July this year we’ve already had a fantastic response from our dedicated Historic Environment volunteers. With volunteers and staff working together, we’re confident that over the next few years we can monitor and maintain the 842 Scheduled Monuments that we have within our boundary, and continue to reduce their ‘At Risk’ statuses, or else remove them from the Heritage at Risk Register altogether.

From coastal industrial sites threatened by erosion and climate change, to grand prehistoric earthworks under attack by flora and fauna, there is a huge range of archaeology at risk. Our scheduled sites represent almost the whole of the human story in Britain, and the list is ever growing with a possible monastic grange site currently being considered for designation. We’re working to protect our historic assets and to tell everyone we can about our wonderful heritage.

Over the coming months, we’ll be posting themed blogs focusing on the types of monuments found in the North York Moors, the reasons they are considered nationally important, and why some are currently in trouble.

This month we thought we should start by introducing some of the National Park Authority’s Historic Environment staff and get them to explain themselves in their own words.

Mags Waughman, Head of Historic Environment
After nearly twelve years working for the Authority, first as Archaeological Conservation Officer and later as the Monument Management Scheme Officer, I was very pleased to become Head of Historic Environment at the beginning of the summer. This is an exciting time for the National Park’s Historic Environment work – with new funding to support our work with Scheduled Monuments, new archaeological staff and a new Building Conservation team we are in a very good position to develop our work and look for new directions and projects.

Emma and Jo focus on Monuments for the Future and Nick and I will be working with them on the project, as well as looking after the Park’s undesignated heritage. Suzanne Lilley works with Maria as a second Building Conservation Officer and one day a week they are joined by Clair Shields who has worked in the Building Conservation team for a number of years. Part of my role is to liaise with Maria, Suzanne and Clair to make sure the whole historic environment is cared for equally. I also liaise with the Land of Iron team where Maria has a second role as Cultural Heritage Officer, assisted by Kim Devereux-West. Behind the scenes, one day each week the team still has the benefit of the many years of experience of Graham Lee, a previous Senior Archaeological Conservation Officer. I’m really looking forward to working with the new teams, seeing our plans take shape and watching the different projects make new discoveries or have a positive effect on our fantastic cultural heritage.

Emma Trevarthen, Monuments for the Future Project Officer
I’m an archaeologist with a background in aerial survey and Historic Environment Record (HER) management. My role with the National Park is to look at the threats and vulnerabilities of some of the Scheduled Monuments which have been on the Heritage at Risk Register for some time, and to try to find ways to improve their condition and sustain those improvements in the long term. I’ve already had a really good, positive response from landowners and I look forward to seeing more monuments in the North York Moors removed from the ‘At Risk’ Register over the next three years.

Jo Collins, Monuments for the Future Volunteers and Community Officer
My role is Volunteers and Community Officer for Monuments for the Future. I coordinate a group of volunteers who survey the condition of Scheduled Monuments, monitor walkers’ cairns on Scheduled Monuments and carry out practical conservation tasks. In the near future I’ll also be focussing on helping community groups to care for their local heritage. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference volunteers and community groups can make as Monuments for the Future progresses.

Maria-Elena Calderon, Building Conservation and Land of Iron Cultural Heritage Officer
I have worked in in archaeology for almost ten years, specifically in Built Heritage since 2013 when I was awarded a training bursary by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists hosted by ASWYAS in Leeds. My work has taken me as far afield as Qatar but the majority has been spent in the UK from Orkney to Pontypridd and Cambridge. I have worked for the National Park for nearly two years and I relish the opportunity it provides me to help protect, improve and impart knowledge of the historic environment to residents, tourists and fellow National Park staff. I work as a Building Conservation Officer which involves assessing Listed Building and Conservation Area consent applications. I am fairly new to this role but I enjoy it immensely and receive great support from my fellow officers. We work with homeowners, planners and developers to insure that any development is conducted in a manner that is sympathetic to the heritage assets. As an Authority we also offer grants for the above where the development will result in an enhancement which our team administers. In addition to that we regularly offer advice in regard to traditional buildings either subject to planning proposals or other project based work within the National Park. We also work with volunteers undertaking surveys of listed building as part of the nationwide ‘Buildings at Risk’ scheme.

Nick Mason, Archaeology Officer
I’ve only been with the National Park now for 3 months, but what a time it’s been so far. I have been lucky enough to be an archaeologist all my professional life, but having responsibility for the sheer breadth of archaeology in one place is a new, and very exciting, experience. My role as archaeology officer means that I am interested in protecting all the heritage assets of the North York Moors, including unscheduled archaeology, ancient plough marks, and even possible structures marked on old OS maps. Sometimes development means that these must be affected, and we find ways to mitigate the effect, learning as much as we can as we go. Scheduled Monuments often represent a massive potential for undiscovered archaeology, and their setting in the landscape, the possible finds within, and the stories they can tell mean it’s worth doing all we can to look after them for the future.

If you’d like to be out and about more in the North York Moors and might be interested in volunteering opportunities at the same time, we’d love to hear from you. There are a range of tasks which need doing, from carrying out surveys and reporting on monuments to clearing patches of damaging bracken on wild moorlands.

Similarly, if you think you know of some material heritage currently under threat please don’t hesitate to get in touch, so we can see what can be done.