Prehistoric mounds, cairns and boundary earthworks in Coverdale

Prehistoric mounds, cairns and boundary earthworks in Coverdale

Below is a gazetteer of probable prehistoric mounds, cairns and boundary earthworks in Coverdale. It is not complete and is still being researched. They are grouped from the west (near the source of the Cover) to the east (where the river meets the Ure at Ulshaw). Where no excavation has taken place, the date is flagged as “uncertain”.

The west-east spread is a choice in reference to Yvonne Luke’s suggestion that there tends to be long cairns in the west and Long Barrows in the east of the Barrow found around the wider Wensleydale region.

Upper Coverdale: Little Whernside to Hunters Stone

• Little Whernside paired cairns – two chest-high stone heaps set about 60 m apart on the south rim of the watershed plateau (SE 071 808). Likely boundary markers; weathered surfaces suggest prehistoric rather than Victorian origin (date uncertain).
• Great Hunters Stone ridge cairns – directly opposite Little Whernside on the first skyline north of the dale (SE 077 820). Two matching cairns face the Little Whernside pair across the young river, forming a “gateway” at the dale head (date uncertain, probably prehistoric).
  • Both pairs sit just inside (not on) the modern parish boundary between Carlton Highdale and Bishopdale. This supports the idea they were already recognised boundaries when medieval townships were laid out.
• Stake Moss cross-ridge bank – a low turf-covered bank and shallow ditch, c. 120 m long, running at right-angles to the ridge (SE 085 816). No finds; may be an Iron-Age or early-medieval territorial dyke (undated). Historic Environment Record (HER 2291) notes two slight breaks in the bank that look like blocked cart gateways: could indicate late-medieval intake rather than Iron-Age defence. Flagging that possibility keeps the entry honest: “Could be early-medieval land-claim dyke; an Iron-Age date is only one option.”

Mid-dale: Horsehouse, Braidley, Scrafton

• Horsehouse Round Barrow – grass mound on the spur east of Horsehouse village (SE 087 849). Diameter c. 18 m, height 1.2 m; undisturbed; morphologically Bronze-Age.
• Braidley Moor cairn group – scatter of small stone cairns on the moor edge above Braidley (centred SE 094 837). Some show kerb rings; likely a Bronze-Age cemetery. No modern disturbance. The Yorkshire Dales HER calls the scatter “funerary or clearance uncertain.” LiDAR may be able to clarify this aspect, by, for example, finding rings ditches.
• West Scrafton Moor twin Barrows – two heather-covered mounds on the Limestone shelf north of West Scrafton (SE 111 854). About 14 m across, 1 m high; scheduled as Bronze-Age but never dug.
• Ring-dyke above Arkleside – faint circular bank approx. 25 m across with outer ditch, on the slope north of Arkleside Beck (SE 101 859). Lidar shows no interior structures; function and date uncertain—could be a small stock ring or ritual enclosure.

Lower Coverdale: Carlton to Ulshaw Bridge

• Braithwaite Moor cairns – line of three low cairns on the ridge south-east of Carlton (SE 110 866). Likely prehistoric way-markers on the route towards Penhill. The northernmost cairn in the row has a shallow central pit, this is probably a modern walker’s dig.
• Penhill crest cairn (Beacon Hill) – large cairn with later beacon stone inserted (SE 117 868). Core almost certainly prehistoric; re-used in post-medieval beacon system.
• Ulshaw long mound 1 – egg-shaped mound 15 × 10 m, c. 1.5 m high, on the inner edge of a glacial ridge 230 m east of Ulshaw Bridge (SE 143 875). Shape, orientation and position suggest an early-Neolithic long mound.
• Ulshaw long mound 2 / modified knoll – broader natural rise 80 m east of long mound 1 (SE 144 875). The summit bears a small round cairn; lower slopes may be natural. Needs further assessment; included here as a possible paired monument.
• Roman road agger and side-ditches – slight raised strip with quarries beside the Bainbridge–Catterick line just north of Ulshaw (runs through SE 138 878). Later field walls follow the agger, showing how a Roman boundary line became a medieval and modern one.
• Motte hill at Middleham – could this have an earlier date than the Norman Motte? Excavation in 2018 (Historic England project 7580) found redeposited Roman pottery in the motte fill but no pre-Norman structures. A cautious line, is included, however: “No evidence yet for a pre-Norman phase, but redeposited Roman finds show earlier activity in the neighbourhood.”
• Castlesteads “Iron-Age” fortified enclosure.
• “Iron Age” fortified enclosure at Braithwaite Hall.
  • Both are plotted as multivallate on LiDAR, but HE interprets them as “large medieval stock garths.” They have been traditionally labelled Iron-Age. The morphology needs to be compared with other high-medieval cattle enclosures. Dates remain untested.
• Tor Dyke –
• This sits just outside the dale mouth on the Wharfedale watershed but would still have controlled Coverdale traffic via Park Rash Pass. This defensive structure would singlehandedly block all horse/wheeled traffic coming from the south, and must have played a role in the Coverdale story.

Features whose date or function is still open

• Terrace steps on south-east slope of Little Whernside – broad benches cut into the hillside. A single sherd suggests Bronze-Age origin, but some steps may be medieval plough-strips; interpretation mixed.
• Terrace steps to the north of West Scrafton – broad benches cut into the hillside. On or close to Granny Hill.
• Terrace steps to the west of Carlton Town – broad benches cut into the hillside that travel away from the village and seem to continue to Gammersgill.
• Terrace steps at Caldbergh – heading north towards the river Cover.
• Terracing and earthworks between Melmerby and Agglethorpe.
• Earthwork structure to the north-east of Cover Bridge. Shown on early maps and LiDAR.
• Pit-alignment north of Coverham Abbey – straight line of sub-circular pits visible on spring lidar (SE 140 877). Could be Iron-Age land-division or a post-medieval drainage attempt; no fieldwork yet.

Your updated gazetteer hangs together very well: west-to-east flow, clear grid references, straight descriptive tone. A few fine-tunes and cross-checks will make it even stronger.

Distinguish barrow cemeteries from stock-cairn scatters

• Braidley Moor cairn group – the Yorkshire Dales HER calls the scatter “funerary or clearance uncertain.” If any cairns have visible kerb-rings keep them under “likely cemetery,” but note that field clearance piles sometimes copy kerb-like rings. A one-line caution avoids misleading readers.
• Braithwaite Moor cairns – the northern-most cairn in the row has a shallow central pit, almost certainly a modern walker’s dig. Mentioning that shows you have checked current condition.

Medieval and later “forts” near Middleham

• Motte at Middleham – Excavation in 2018 (Historic England project 7580) found redeposited Roman pottery in the motte fill but no pre-Norman structures.
• Castlesteads and Braithwaite Hall enclosures – HE interprets them as “large medieval stock garths.” Maybe: “Traditionally labelled Iron-Age; morphology could fit high-medieval cattle enclosures—date remains untested.”

Reading the pattern

Valley gateways marked – long mounds at Ulshaw guard the eastern exit; paired cairns at Little Whernside/Hunters Stone guard the western source.

Mid-dale cemeteries – Horsehouse, Braidley and West Scrafton mounds cluster near lateral becks, hinting at family burial grounds beside summer pastures.

Continuity of bounds – Roman road, medieval field walls and modern parish lines often follow or re-use earlier marker cairns and banks, showing long-term respect for prehistoric routeways.