The Roman Rig is a defensive dyke built to defend against attack from the south. It runs from Sheffield, past Templeborough and carries on almost to Doncaster. If this is a Brigantian dyke it would certainly add weight to Websters definition of the Roman border in the period.
Period: Iron Age
Roman Rig Defensive Works
- Filed under Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Dark Ages, Dark Ages Brigantia, Defensive Dike, Defensive Structures, Dike, Europe, Iron Age, Late Iron Age, Linear Earthworks, Medieval, Petilius Cerialis
- Adwick-le-Street Roman Fort, Carl Wark, Cartimandua, Danes Camp, Defensive Earthwork, Defensive Works, Doncaster Roman Fort, Dunum, Dyke, Linear earthwork, Mam Tor, Petilius Cerialis, Roe Wood, Roman Rig, Scoles Coppice, South Yorkshire, Sutton Common, Templeborough Roman Fort, Venutius, Wincobank
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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 16
Hillforts: Defence or Ritual? – Part 1
- Filed under Archaeology, Brigantia, Brigantia England, Britain, Critical Thinking, Defensive Structures, Earthworks, Guide, Hill Fort, Univallet Hillfort, Vitrified Fort
Over the last five years Iron-Age specialists have been re-examining what British hillforts were really for. The question is no longer just “fortress or farm?” but whether many of them were built first and foremost as places of gathering, display and ritual.
- Ad Gefrin, Barry Cunliffe, battle, Bowden, Castle Dykes, Ceremony, Debate, Defence, Hill Fort, Hill of Tara, hillfort, Iron Age, Julius Caesar, Maiden Castle, McOmish, Mortimer Wheeler, Northumberland, Paulinus, Ringforts, ritual, Ritual First, tacitus, Thornborough Henges, vitrified, Yeavering Bell
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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 11
Guide: Spoil Heaps
- Filed under Archaeology, Guide, Industrial Heritage, Landscape Archaeology, Landscape feature, Mining, Spoil Heaps
These are artificial hills made from the unwanted rock, shale and tailings that come up with coal, metal ore, stone or clay when it is being mined or quarried. Because extractive industry is both deep and long-lived, single collieries or pits can generate tens of millions of cubic metres of spoil; pushed out by locomotive, conveyor or tippler wagon and dumped in successive layers, the piles quickly become a distinctive landform.
Jun 10
Guide: Hillfort Mounds of Europe
- Filed under Archaeology, Castro Hillfort, Contour/Plateau Fort, Europe, Guide, Hidden Remains, Hill Fort, Landscape Archaeology, Landscape feature, Multivallete Hillfort, New Sites, Oppidum, Promontory fort, Slavic Gord, Univallet Hillfort, Vitrified Fort
Guide: Common Features of Iron Age Hillforts This article attempts to serve as a guide for many of the features of the hillforts found in Britain, in Read more Guide: Iron-Age minting: Ceramic Pellet-mould trays This article explores the most tangible evidence we possess for indigenous minting north of the Humber: the smashed ceramic “pellet-mould” …
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.
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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
Post-medieval copper alloy shoe buckle frame, sub-rectangular with the embedded ends of an iron spindle. Cf. Whitehead 2003, no. 661. Weight 5.29g. Length and width 32.7 and 24.5mm. c.1690 - c.1720.Finder's no. POD15F21 [...]
Medieval copper alloy buckle with an annular frame and a wire pin. The frame is of D-shaped cross-section, i.e. rounded externally and flat internally. The pin is intact but only 8.5mm long with its loop [...]
Rim sherd of medieval unglazed pottery jar or bowl, oxidised with buff surfaces, weight 12g. 13th - 14th centuryFinder's no. POD11F67 [...]
Body sherd of medieval unglazed pottery, reduced with oxidised exterior, weight 15g. 12th - 14th centuryFinder's no. POD11F66 [...]
Piece of solidified molten silvery grey copper alloy of unknown but not recent date, shapeless with uneven surfaces. Weight 6.57g.Finder's no. CF4F94 [...]
Post-medieval small nail or tack in pale grey copper alloy, consisting of a flat circular head with a pelleted border and an off-centre tapering square-sectioned shank (now bent). Weight 0.23g. Diameter 5.8mm. Length 11.5mm, of [...]
An Iron Age silver unit of the Regini and Atrebates / Southern region, attributable to Tincomarus and of "Tincomarus Diadem" type dating to 25 BC - AD 10. Obverse: diademed head, left with [TINC]OMARVS around. Reverse: horse, left, lyre [...]
An incomplete copper-alloy radiate of Tetricus I dating to the period AD 271-274 (Reece Period 13). Probably LAETITIA AVG reverse type depicting Laetitia, draped, standing left, holding patera/wreath in right hand and rudder/anchor in left hand. Gallic mint. [...]
An incomplete copper alloy radiate or nummus of Unclear Emperor (AD 260-402). Unclear reverse type. Unclear mint.Diameter: 16.58mm, Weight: 0.86gThe coin is missing minor portions of its outer flan. [...]
An incomplete copper alloy Strap-End of Early-Medieval date (AD 800-925). Thomas Class A, Type 2, geometric and zoomorphic style. The upper end is split with two circular perforations visible within the upper end of the back [...]
Rim sherd of a medieval to post-medieval lathe-finished copper alloy vessel, everted and slightly thickened. Weight 5.99g. Diameter c.150mm. 15th - 16th century.Finder's no. CF4F83 [...]
Rim sherd of a medieval copper alloy chafing dish integral with a dish support which tapers to a blunt rather than pointed end. Lewis 1973, Type A. Weight 27.41g. Diameter c.230mm. External and internal lengths of [...]
A complete copper-alloy Seal Matrix of Medieval date (AD 1200-1400). The object is composed of a circular die stamp and a tapered and faceted hexagonal section handle with a collared oval drilled lozenge shaped loop at its apex.The [...]
An incomplete copy alloy nummus of the House of Constantine dating to the period AD 330-337. Reece period 17. Probably GLORIA EXERCITVS reverse depicting two soldiers with one/two standards. Unclear mintLength: 15.59mm Width: 9.57mm, Weight: 0.75gThe coin is >50% of [...]
Fragment of a post-medieval copper alloy sword belt fitting, one end of a plate with a pair of lateral lobes, remains of an iron rivet and "a circular eye with a cross-shaped aperture and a [...]
A complete copper alloy contemporary copy (barbarous) radiate of Unclear ruler (AD 275-285). Reece Period 14. Unclear reverse type. Uncertain mint.Diameter: 11.39mm, Weight: 0.78g [...]
An incomplete copper alloy radiate or nummus of Unclear Emperor (AD 260-402). Unclear reverse type. Unclear mint.Diameter: 14.32mm, Weight: 1.09gThe coin is missing minor portions of its outer flan. [...]
Post-medieval copper alloy rotary key with twin internal projections in a kidney-shaped bow, a triple ribbed moulding at the top of a solid shank, and a simple bit. Weight 3.83g. Length 32.8mm. Width of bow 15.2mm. [...]
An incomplete minim nummus of unclear Emperor dating to the period 296-402. Unclear reverse type. Unclear mint.Diameter: 11.11mm, Weight: 0.68gThe coin is missing portions of its outer flan. [...]
An incomplete nummus of Unclear Emperor dating to the period 296-402. Unclear reverse type. Unclear mint.Diameter: 17.24mm, Weight: 1.70gThe coin is missing portions of its outer flan. [...]
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