Moulton Henge

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Moulton Henge - 1m LiDAR - National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge

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.

Moulton Henge - OS Series 1 - National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge - OS Series 1 - National Library of Scotland

Description

Two opposed entrances are visible, the northern one especially clear, and a faint outer ditch skirts the south-west sector. Most of this had gone unnoticed on the ground because medieval house platforms, a moated manorial site and later ridge-and-furrow were draped over the prehistoric Earthwork, but Environment Agency LiDAR data examined in 2016 picked out the full circular plan and prompted Historic England’s detailed reassessment. The site has been scheduled since 2001 as “Moulton Neolithic henge, medieval settlement, field system and moated site,” with the henge element formally acknowledged in the 2021 amendment. (historicengland.org.uk, historicengland.org.uk)

Moulton Henge - 1m Lidar - National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge - 1m Lidar - National Library of Scotland

No Excavations yet

No excavation has yet been undertaken, so dating rests on morphology and comparison. In size, layout and siting on a gravel terrace the ring matches other late-Neolithic monuments in the Swale–Ure lowlands such as Catterick, Nunwick and the Thornborough trio. All of these share a north–south axial alignment that appears to echo the line later taken by Dere Street and, much later, the Great North Road. The idea that Moulton forms one more node in this long ceremonial corridor is strengthened by discoveries made during the A1 (M) upgrade a few kilometres to the north, where excavations revealed a huge late-Neolithic double palisaded enclosure at Marne Barracks and scattered contemporary pits and burials along the new carriageway.

Research Summary

Beyond the LiDAR plotting and rapid earthwork survey, research has consisted of desk-based mapping and walk-overs; no artefacts have been recovered from secure contexts and no geophysical survey has yet been published. Even so, the monument’s protected status means its buried ditch fills should preserve charcoal, pollen and, potentially, structural post-ring trace, offering the prospect of firm dating and insight into the activities that once took place on the 110 m arena floor. The henge is now recognised as a scheduled Neolithic henge that anchors Moulton in the same prehistoric landscape story as its better-known neighbours at Thornborough and Catterick. (teessidepsychogeography.wordpress.com)

Site Gallery

Moulton Henge – Satellite – LiDAR Finder

Moulton Henge – OS Series 1 – National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge – OS Series 1 – National Library of Scotland 3

Moulton Henge – OS Series 1 – National Library of Scotland 2

Moulton Henge – 1m Lidar – National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge – 1m LiDAR1 – National Library of Scotland

Moulton Henge – 1m Lidar – National Library of Scotland 2

Moulton Henge – 1m LiDAR – LiDAR Finder

Moulton Henge – 1m LiDAR – LiDAR Finder 2

Moulton Henge – 1m LiDAR – LiDAR Finder 3