Blog Archive

Castle Dykes Henge, Thoralby – North Yorkshire

With kind permission of YAAMAPPING

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.

Moulton Henge

Moulton Henge - 1m Lidar

Archaeologists now recognise a true Neolithic henge lying immediately south-west of Moulton village, roughly midway between the Swale and Dere Street. The monument is almost 200 m across, with a low earthen bank encircling an inner ditch and a central platform about 110 m wide; the ditch lies inside the bank—the classic “Class II” henge arrangement.

Vitrified Fort Sites

1930s photograph of Castle Hill

This page is a master placeholder for all vitrified fort sites in the Vitrified Forts section of Brigantes Nation.

Knockfarrel Fort

Knock Farril

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.

Mote of Mark Hill Fort

Mote of Mark from sea shore path

The Mote of Mark is a defended hilltop overlooking the Urr estuary. It was the court or citadel of a powerful Dark Age chieftain, possibly one of the princes of Rheged. The site was occupied during the 6th century and appears to have been destroyed by fire in the 7th century.

Barry Hill Fort

Hillfort on Hill of Barra, near Old Meldrum, from the air

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)

Dunagoil Hillfort

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.

Tap O’Noth Hill Fort

Tap O Noth Hillfort

This is one of the best examples of a vitrified fort, it is near the village of Rhynie in northeastern Scotland. This massive fort from prehistory is on the summit of a mountain of the same name which, being 1,859 feet (560 metres) high, commands an impressive view of the Aberdeenshire countryside.

How Hill Hillfort, Swaledale

How Hill Downholme LIDAR

How Hill, near Downholme in North Yorkshire, is the site of a large univallate hillfort.

Aldborough Roman Town

Aldborough Roman Town mosaic

Aldborough, or Isurium Brigantia as it was known in Roman times was the capital of Brigantia, at least from some point during Cartimandua’s acceptance as client Queen, governed by Rome. As such, it is a key site in our search for Brigantia

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