Black Dike is the diminutive counterpart to the great Tor Dike, rising from its western arm and climbing to the watershed between Great and Little Whernside. Beginning at roughly SD 988 756—where Tor Dike cleaves the limestone scarp—the Black Dike pursues a steep, sinuous course uphill for nearly 0.6 km, finally spilling onto the ridge crest at about 675 m above sea level
Category: Iron Age
Tor Dyke
Tor Dyke appears to have been attributed to Venutius which dates it of the period AD 52 – 70. The presence of a legionary size marching camp a few miles to the southwest at Malham certainly indicates an active role in the Roman advance of AD 70. However, given the lack of published research so far a clear picture has yet to emerge.
Jun 27
Prehistoric mounds, cairns and boundary earthworks in Coverdale
- Filed under Archaeology, Barrow, Boundary Marker, Brigantia, Brigantia England, Bronze Age, Burial Mound, Dark Ages, Dark Ages Brigantia, Early Christian, Early Medieval, Guide, Iron Age, Landscape Archaeology, Landscape feature, Motte and Bailey, Mound, New Sites, Roman, Terraces, Visible Remains
A gazetteer of probable prehistoric mounds, cairns and boundary earthworks in Coverdale. It is not complete and is still being researched.
Castle Dykes Henge, Thoralby – North Yorkshire
- Filed under Archaeology, Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Class I, Earthworks, Henge, Iron Age, Landscape feature, New Sites, Ritual Landscape
Castle dykes it is a small class one henge, 90m across, perched on the high ground up in the North Yorkshire dales. The bank survives up to 1.5 m high in places, and the ditch up to 3 m deep. Early 20th-century reports (1908) noted its intact form, and recent LiDAR-based surveys have confirmed its classic henge profile with minimal later disturbance.
Jun 10
Guide: Barrows
- Filed under Archaeobotanical, Barrow, Bell Barrow, Bowl Barrow, Bronze Age, Dark Ages, Disc Barrow, Europe, Guide, Iron Age, Landscape Archaeology, Landscape feature, Long Barrow, Neolithic, Ring Barrow, Ritual Landscape, Roman, Round Barrow, Square Barrow, Steppe Kurgan
A barrow is a mound of earth and/or stones raised over a grave or group of graves. Used from the Neolithic through to the Iron Age (roughly 4000 BCE to 500 CE), barrows were often constructed to honour elite individuals, such as tribal leaders, warriors, or chieftains. They are frequently found singly or in cemeteries known as barrow fields.
- AngloViking, Arras Culture, barrow, Barrow Timeline, Bell Barrow, Bowl Barrow, britain, Bronze Age, Burial Mound, Disc Barrow, Eastern Europe, Hallstatt, Iberian Peninsular, ireland, Iron Age, la tene, Long Barrow, Neolithc, Nordic Bronze Age, Ring Barrow, Roman, Round Barrow, ScandinaviaUkraineCentral Europe, Square Barrow, Steppe Kurgan, timeline
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Jun 05
Guide: Classification of Henge Monuments
- Filed under Archaeology, Bronze Age, Earthworks, Henge, Iron Age, Landscape feature, Neolithic, New Sites
Archaeologists use the word “henge” for later-Neolithic and earliest Bronze-Age earthen rings whose ditch lies inside the bank, creating a deliberately bounded interior. The term itself was coined in 1932 by Kendrick; it was refined in the 1950s by Richard Atkinson, whose system still frames most discussion.
Drumanagh Promontory Fort – First Ever Intact Roman Pot Found in Ireland
- Filed under Agricola, Amphora, Bone Comb, Defensive Structures, Fort, Gaming Pieces, Hill Fort, Ireland, Iron Age, Late Iron Age, Leaders, News, Promontory fort, Roman pottery
RTE Ireland has reported that more recently they have made yet another remarkable discovery—an intact Roman pot. the first one to be uncovered on Irish soil, and providing more tantalising clues about ancient Roman-Irish interactions.
Although the Roman Empire they never reached Ireland (except, seemingly, in myth). That does not mean, that Roman influence and goods did enter Ireland, and it means that Drumanagh continues to headline as one of Irelands most tantalising archaeological sites for that same reason – exactly what were the Romans doing in Ireland?
Knockfarrel Fort
- Filed under Hill Fort, Iron Age, Vitrified Fort
This had substantial ramparts made of stones with a timber frame, enclosing a large area and making good use of the natural defences of the hill-top.
Barry Hill Fort
- Filed under Fort, Hill Fort, Iron Age, Vitrified Fort
Barry Hill is a textbook “big fort waiting for a small trench”: its spectacular vitrified rampart, enigmatic outer works and Arthurian folklore offer equal attraction to scientists and story-lovers—yet almost everything we know comes from surface survey. A single, well-designed excavation season could pivot the site from picturesque curiosity to a securely dated anchor point in the defensive story of eastern Scotland.
Dunagoil Hillfort, (Isle of Bute, Argyll & Bute)
- Filed under Archaeology, Bronze Age, Dark Ages, Defensive Structures, Early Medieval, Hill Fort, Iron Age, New Sites, Vitrified Fort
Dunagoil crowns a 30 m-high columnar-basalt promontory on the south-west coast of Bute, overlooking the Sound of Bute and the Cumbraes. Cliffs on the north and west form natural ramparts; only the gentle ESE saddle gives easy access.
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Announcing: The Brigantian News!
- Roman Road to the West uncovered under Manchester Street 16 July 2025
- What might Stonehenge Mean? Dartmoor and Carnac add to the Picture 3 July 2025
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- Drumanagh Promontory Fort – First Ever Intact Roman Pot Found in Ireland 5 June 2025
Portable Antiquities News
An incomplete Post Medieval cast copper-alloy double-loop buckle frame with moulded decoration on the loop dating to c.1550-1650.Just one plano-convex oval loop remains. Moulded bi-lobed curved knops on each corner of the outside edge. Curved sides and [...]
A clipepd and worn Medieval silver penny of Henry VI (AD 1422-1461) or VII (AD 1485-1509) dating to AD 1422- 1509. Unclear mint. [...]
An incomplete Medieval to post-Medieval cast copper-alloy hooked strap fitting/belt hook comprising a curved portion of half of a U-shaped hanger with an elongated terminal. The hanger has a shield-shaped moulding on the exterior side at the [...]
A Medieval pentagonal cast copper alloy strap slide with separate rivet. The front has rounded edges and the sides of the frame are flat. There is a drilled hole retaining a loose copper alloy rivet [...]
A silver Roman denarius of Marcus Aurelius as Caesar under Antoninus Pius dating to AD 146-147 (Reece period 7). TR POT COS II reverse depicting Spes, draped, advancing left, holding up flower-bud in right hand and [...]
A complete flint Micro scraper of Mesolithic date (9000 - 3450 BC). The lithic is sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains one predominant negative scar. The left and right-hand edges have [...]
A complete flint Micro scraper of Mesolithic date (9000 - 3450 BC). The lithic is sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains two predominant negative scars with corresponding arrises. The left and [...]
A complete Scraper of Mesolithic to Neolithic date (9000-1500 BC). The object is sub-triangular in plan and plano-convex section. The dorsal surface has three predominant negative scars. The proximal end has been blunted, while the [...]
A complete flint Scraper of Mesolithic date (9000-3450 BC). The object is sub-rectangular in plan and concavo-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains two predominant negative scars, the proximal end retains covering cortex and distal end [...]
A complete flint Scraper of Mesolithic date (9000-3450 BC). The object is sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains three predominant negative scars, the proximal end has been abruptly blunted, the distal [...]
A complete flint Scraper of Mesolithic date (9000-3450 BC). The object is sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains one negative scar along the right-hand side. The proximal end is abruptly blunted. [...]
A complete Blunted Scraper of Mesolithic date (9000-3450 BC). The object is sub-rectangular in plan and concavo-convex section. The dorsal surface has four predominant negative scars. The proximal and distal ends have been abruptly blunted. [...]
A complete flint Scraper of Mesolithic date (9000-3450 BC). The object is sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains two predominant negative scars, the proximal and distal ends are abruptly blunted. The [...]
A complete flint Blade of Mesolithic date (9000-3450). The object is sub-rectangular in section and bi-convex in plan. The dorsal surface has four predominant negative scars with corresponding arises. The proximal and distal ends are [...]
A complete flint Microlith of Mesolithic date (9,000-3,450 BC). The object is sub-triangular in plan and bi-convex in section. The dorsal surface contains four predominant negative scars. The proximal end is blunted. The distal end tapers [...]
An incomplete silver Penny of Edward III (AD 1327-1377). Third ‘florin’ coinage, normal type 2. Long cross reverse with three pellets in each quadrant. London mint. AD 1344-1351.Diameter: 19.29mm, Thickness: 0.65mm, Weight: 1.20gThe coin is [...]
A complete silver Penny of Edward I (AD 1272-1307). Class 3e. Long cross reverse with three pellets in each quadrant. Newcastle mint. AD 1280-1281.Diameter: 17.29mm, Thickness: 0.68mm, Weight: 1.26gNorth Vol II, P 28, No 1020 [...]
A complete silver cut Half Penny of William I of Scotland (AD 1165-1214). Phase B, late or posthumous issue, short cross and stars coinage. Voided short cross reverse with six-pointed star in each quadrant. Minted by [...]
A complete copper alloy Roman radiate of Claudius II 270-271 AD. Reece period 13. Reverse type CONSECRATIO depicting alter. Unclear mint.Diameter: 16.44mm, Weight: 1.41g.As Cunetio 2313. [...]
An incomplete copper alloy Jetton of Medieval date (AD 1415-1497) Shield of France type. AVE MARIA GRACIA reverse depicting triple stranded straight cross fleuretty in four arched tressure.Diameter: 28.55mm, Thickness: 0.75mm, Weight: 1.94gThe jetton is missing minor [...]
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