The henge at Catterick racecourse is an intriguing prehistoric site. Initially thought to be a Roman amphitheatre, it is now believed to be a henge, a type of Neolithic earthwork. Crop-mark mapping defined the henge, the 1990s rescue dig explained its mixed bank and cairn fabric, Roman-town excavations showed how much of it was levelled in antiquity, and the motorway programme set the site back into a much larger prehistoric landscape.
Site Section: Global Heritage
Castle Dykes Roman Villa
This earthwork was partially excavated in 1870, these revealed the foundations for a Roman villa of obvious opulence. It’s final Roman owners were believed to have suffered a grisly death as the villa burnt around them. It is likely that future excavations will reveal that the villa was built over of an earlier tribal centre. Probably replacing the shrine to the “Light Water” with a more Mediterranean alternative.
Maiden Castle Fort Pooley Bridge
A superbly circular “fort”, built on the side of the hill, which seems to be a Brigantian fashion (see below). This is built with two rampart walls and a very narrow ditch between – 1-2m. If these were defences, they seem pretty slight. In it’s way, a miniature version of Wandlebury, but only about 200m circumference.

