Boltby is a very important ancient site IMO. A gold “hair braid”, was found there, linking it to the Amesbury Archer, buried with two similar hair braids. This also provides a link to the founding of Stonehenge, which helps set a potential scene for a possible “zeitgeist”, of the day.
Location: North Yorkshire
Nov 23
The Story of Boltby Scar
- Filed under Brigantes, Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Bronze Age, Celtic Tribes, Defensive Dike, Defensive Walls, Dike, Europe, Fort, Hair Braid - Ring, Hill Fort, Iron Age, Landscape Archaeology, Linear Earthworks, Mining Landscape, Promontory fort, Stories of Brigantia
Swaledale
- Filed under Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Cairn, Europe, Flint Scatters, Geology, Geomorphology, Hill Fort, Iron-Age, Megalithic, New Sites, Promontory fort, Ring Cairn, Rock Art, Univallet Hillfort
Swaledale occupies the long, sinuous valley carved by the River Swale on its 45-kilometre descent from Nine Standards Rigg (662 m) on the Pennine watershed to Richmond in lower Teesdale. The dale narrows between rough gritstone scarps near Keld, broadens to a patchwork of hay-meadows around Muker and Gunnerside, then opens into a tree-fringed flood-plain west of Reeth before the river cuts through the Carboniferous escarpment to meet the Vale of Mowbray.
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Head One – St Michaels Church, Kirklington
- Filed under Celtic Head, Celtic Head, Church, Gothic
This head is one of thirteen “Celtic”, or archaic heads that are located within the interior of the church. Twelve of those heads, including this one, are located in four rows of three, which run down either side of the churches arched columns. The thirteenth head is located in the bell tower.
Cana Barn Henge
- Filed under Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Class IIa, Europe, Henge, Liminal Spaces, Neolithic, New Sites
The stats for this Neolithic monument are astounding: 200m across, once a great circle of earthen banks and deep ditches. Today, almost lost: 5,000 years of plough and neglect have flattened the banks and filled the ditches, and Cana Henge is now nothing but a smoothly undulating grassy field on the moor overlooking Ripon.
Oval Barrow east of Ulshaw Bridge
- Filed under Brigantia, Brigantia England, Burial Mound, Landscape feature, Long Barrow
This unexcavated and undated barrow matches many of other Late Neolithic / Early Bronze-Age round barrows (c. 2400–1500 BC) dotted along the flanks of the Yorkshire Dales.
Cleave Dyke Defensive System
- Filed under Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Defensive Structures, Dike, Iron Age, Landscape feature
The Cleave dyke system is several Dykes which combine to create a boundary of between 9 and 18 kilometres running north south to the west of Thirsk.
Black Dike – Coverdale
- Filed under Boundary Marker, Brigantia, Brigantia England, Dark Ages, Dark Ages Brigantia, Dike, Iron Age, Landscape feature, New Sites
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
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.
Bishopdale
- Filed under Brigantia, Britain, Landscape Archaeology
Bishopdale lies within the northern limb of the Askrigg Block, its underlying bedrock dominated by Carboniferous limestones with intermittent shales and sandstones of the Yoredale Series. The Great Scar Limestone, a thick, massive unit formed around 330 million years ago in a shallow tropical sea, underpins the dale’s steeper scarps and cliff lines, while the thinner-bedded limestones and intervening mudstones of the Yoredale Group create the characteristic terraced flanks on which many of Bishopdale’s field systems are laid out
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Announcing: The Brigantian News!
- Roman Road to the West uncovered under Manchester Street 16 July 2025
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Portable Antiquities News
A copper-alloy Roman as or dupondius of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) dating to the period c.AD 145-161 (Reece period 7). FELICITAS AVG S-C reverse type depicting Felicitas standing left. Mint of Rome.Diameter: 21.8mm; thickness: 3.5mm; weight: [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy button with a solid bi-convex head and a distorted integral non-drilled loop. Weight 3.01g. Length c.11.5mm. Diameter 10.5mm. 16th century.Finder's no. F12 [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy button with a solid plano-convex head and a distorted integral non-drilled loop. Weight 1.32g. Length c.10.5mm. Diameter 8.9mm. 16th century.Finder's no. F6 [...]
Medieval copper alloy cruciform four-way strap distributor, cf. NMS-A43F80. That one of the strap attachments was of iron is indicated by ferrous material adhering to the restriction in one arm. Such small objects, both cross-shaped [...]
An incomplete Post Medieval cast copper alloy stud or mount dating c. 1500-1700.The stud head is a pointed oval in plan and is slightly domed with a hollow reverse. The plain undecorated surface of the stud [...]
A group of five copper alloy fragments of cooking vessels dating to the medieval to post medieval (c.AD 1200-1700), all found in the same field. Ref. Number Length (mm) Width (mm) Thickness (mm) Weight (grams) Comments 5194 [...]
An incomplete Roman copper-alloy plate brooch, dating to c.AD 200 - 350. The brooch is oval in plan, the rear of the brooch has retained a catchplate and supporting lugs for the now missing pin. [...]
A complete lead alloyt seal matrix of Medieval date (c. AD 1250-1300).The matrix is flat and pointed-oval or vesica-shaped. On the reverse is a central rib with a perforated lug at the top of the seal. The central [...]
An incomplete copper alloy Colchester-derivative, a Polden Hill type brooch of Roman date (AD 80 -120).Around 50% of the brooch is present. The foot of the brooch, spring, catch plate and pin are missing.At the rear [...]
A group of three copper alloy fragments of cooking vessels dating to the medieval to post medieval (c.AD 1200-1700), all found in the same field. WA Number Length (mm) Width (mm) Thickness (mm) Weight (grams) Comments 5241 [...]
A collection of eleven lead alloy shot dating to the post medieval period (c.AD 1500-1850), all found in the same field. Ref. Number Diameter (mm) Weight (grams) Comments 5374 10.2 6.4 Visible sprue (clipped). Seam [...]
A collection of six lead alloy shot dating to the post medieval period (c.AD 1500-1850), all found in the same field. Ref. Number Diameter (mm) Weight (grams) Comments 5427 12.4 9.8 Pronounced flat 5428 10.2 6.0 [...]
A collection of seven lead alloy shot dating to the post medieval period (c.AD 1500-1850), all found in the same field. Ref Number Diameter (mm) Weight (grams) Comments 5495 9.9 5.5 Cream coloured. Visible sprue [...]
A collection of three pointed lead alloy shot dating to the modern period (c.AD 1800-1900), all found in the same field. Ref. Number Length Diameter Weight Comments 5425 17.1 12.2 11.1 Dark coloured 5430 17.1 12.2 [...]
A Medieval cast copper alloy double looped sub oval buckle with a separate strap and pin bar. The rear edge of the frame / pin bar has a moulded ridged across and the frame edge [...]
A Medieval trapezoidal copper alloy buckle frame with a sheet roller on the narrowed and recessed front edge. The frame has a narrowed and recessed bar and a rectangular cross sectional profile with convex sides. [...]
A corroded Roman copper alloy nummus of Gratian, dating to the period AD 367 - 375 (Reece Period 19). [GLORIA NOVI SAECVLI] reverse type depicting the emperor standing holding standard and shield. Mint of Arelatum / Arles. [...]
A corroded Roman copper alloy nummus of the House of Constantine dating to AD 335-341 (Reece period 17). [GLORIA EXERCITVS] reverse type depicting two soldiers with a standard between. Uncertain mint. [...]
A Roman copper-alloy "barbarous" radiate imitating an issue of Claudius II (AD 268-270) and dating to the period AD 275-285 (Reece period 14). [SPES PVBLICA] reverse prototype depicting Spes walking left holding flower and raising skirt. Uncertain mint. [...]
An incomplete cast copper alloy Roman knee brooch (c. AD150-250), cf. Mackreth (2011) KNEE Br 1.b2, Plate 130, number 7513. The head is semi-circular or fan shaped with a toothed or radiate margin and has a [...]
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