Summary : An Iron Age promontory fort at Roulston Scar of which the ramparts largely survive, although there are no clear surface traces of occupation. The fort occupies a natural promontory at the SW edge of the Hambleton Hills. The W side of the promontory is defined by a cliff face, the S side by a steep slope, and the E side by a steep-sided valley known as Boar's Gill. The neck of land on the N was defended over c.300m by a box rampart. This was continued around the other sides of the promontory by a glacis rampart up to 2.5m high, again with a low counterscarp bank. Most of the box rampart was levelled c1970 to allow the extension of the runway of the Yorkshire Gliding Club (UID 1346546), which occupies the interior. The bank was virtually erased over a distance of 190m, but the remains of the ditch survive below the ground and are visible on aerial photographs. Rescue excavations in 1969-70 revealed a flat bottomed ditch 6-7m wide and evidence of timber settings in the bank to the south. The box rampart may have been reconstructed as a dump rampart. On the SE side, the rampart has been damaged by afforestation but is still identifiable as a sizeable earthwork. Historic maps show that the entrance probably lay mid-way along the straight stretch of the box rampart on the N, levelled c1970. Other breaches have been created by later hollowed trackways and damage caused by post medieval limestone quarrying. Scheduled. This monument was mapped as part of the North York Moors National Park NMP, visible as earthworks on air photographs. With the exception of the northern area, levelled owing to the gliding club, the features appear to be largely extant on the latest 2009 vertical photography. |
More information : (SE 516 818) Casten Dyke (NR). (1) SE 514 818 Iron Age Promontory Fort at Roulston Scar (erroneously called Casten Dyke on OS 1") with a rampart, 11ft high in places, and a ditch on the NE side enclosing about 53 acres. Air Photographs show the E end of the rampart continuing SE along the side of the valley; appearing on the ground as a terrace. Date circa 2nd - 1st Century BC. (2) Casten Dyke (SE 516 818). Sections of the earthen bank possibly forming part of the defences of a promontory fort were examined in 1969 and 1970. Associated with the bank were two rows of post-holes and a parallel trench used for the supports of a timber box rampart. A flat bottomed ditch 6.0 - 7.0m wide and 2.0m deep with steep sides was seen to the north of the bank, and on the south side of the ditch there was a berm 2.0 - 3.0m wide. (3-4) SE 5183 8164 - SE 5213 8160. Said by Hayes to be a continuation of Casten Dyke (south) 12ft wide, 4ft high with a 6ft wide ditch and counterscarp. (5) SE 5151 8184 - SE 5209 8161 A promontory hill fort situated on Roulston Scar and High Town Brow, c 310.0m above sea level in an outstanding defensive location. The construction of the fort has been such that two individual plateaus have been defended, whether the defences are contemporary cannot be determined without excavation, but the impression gained is that very few years, if any, separate them. The main rampart closing Roulston Scar has been ploughed for some 190.0m from its western terminal point; after which it appears, well preserved, with a maximum height of 2.0m, there is no surface evidence of an accompanying ditch. Following a break of 100.0m the defences continue as a rampart with ditch to the north and a small counterscarp bank across High Town Brow (this is the length referred to by authority 5). The western enclosed plateau is now occupied by Yorkshire Gliding Club; there is no surface evidence of prehistoric occupation other than the site of a tumulus (non proven) (SE 58 SW 11). The name Roulston Scar is in popular use; Casten Dyke is incorrect and refers to a linear work to the north (SE 58 SW 30). The eastern enclosed plateau also shows no evidence of early occupation. The hill figure - White Horse (SE 58 SW 42) within the fort is 19th century. Revised at 1:2500 on MSD. (6) Listed by Challis & Harding as a Hillfort with timber framed rampart and diagonal tie beams. (Iron Age). (7)
SE 516 818. Roulston Scar. Listed in gazetteer as a doubtful hillfort site actually comprising a promontory isolated by a section of the Casten Dyke. The OS Map of Southern Britain in the Iron Age (1962) is cited as rejecting this as a hillfort. Area 22ha. (8)
`P'. Casten Dyke South from SE 515 818 to SE 517 817. This earthwork has been flattened across the airfield of the Yorkshire Gliding Club. It is still clearly visible at the western scarp and also at its eastern end to the south-east of the club buildings, where it continues as a berm into the valley leading to Kilburn. Height of bank above ground level, 0.5m; Depth of ditch below ground level, 1.3m; Width of bank, 11.0m; Width of ditch, 7.8m. (Measurements at the western end). `Q'. Casten Dyke South from SE 518 816 to SE 522 816. A well-preserved earthwork along its entire length. The bank lies to the south of the ditch. Height of bank above ground level, 0.6m; Depth of ditch below ground level, 0.9m; Width of bank, 4.2m; Width of ditch, 3.0m. If we accept that Section `P' was the rampart of a promontory fort, then the gap between dykes `O' (SE 58 SW 30) and `Q' has a resemblance to the gap in Cleave Dyke (LINEAR 6). Forms part of the Cleave Dyke system which is shown by field and aerial evidence to originate probably in the late Bronze or Iron Age. The dyke system was developed earlier than the Hambleton Street (SE 58 NW 43) and the High Street which seem to have come into use in the Roman and/or Saxon periods. (9)
SE 5183 8163 - SE 5208 8160. Section of the Cleave Dyke system 200m south-east of Yorkshire Gliding Club. Scheduled. (10)
Revision of scheduling description to include only the promontory fort. (11)
Between late July and mid-August 2001, English Heritage carried out an analytical field survey of the promontory fort in response to a request from the North York Moors National Park Authority (Event Record 1344220).
Due to the fact that only the most massive section of the defences - the box rampart on the N - was mapped by the OS in 1853 (and on subsequent revisions), previous studies of the fort have fundamentally misinterpreted its form and its relation to Casten Dyke South: the defences actually formed a complete circuit, as first hinted at by Thomas' recognition of the continuation of the earthwork on the E side of the promontory (Source 2). The internal area of the fort was 24.5ha (60.5 acres). The ramparts are mostly part well-preserved. There are no clear surface traces of occupation, in part because most of the interior was graded in the 1960s; there are some signs that there may have been house platforms in the quarry hollow immediately behind the rampart on the E. An original dyke extended E from the terminus of the box rampart for 30m to the edge of the high ground, but this is unconnected to Casten Dyke South. That linear earthwork appears by its form and relation to the fort to be a later addition, probably of Medieval date.
The fort occupies a natural promontory at the SW edge of the Hambleton Hills. The W side of the promontory is defined by a cliff face, the S side by a steep slope, and the E side by a steep-sided valley known as Boar's Gill. The defences around the perimeter are 2.1kms long in total. The neck of land on the N was defended over c300m by a box rampart, surviving as a bank up to 8m wide and 3m high with a broad ditch silted up to 0.9m deep and a low counterscarp bank. This was continued around the other sides of the promontory by a glacis rampart up to 2.5m high, again with a low counterscarp bank.
Most of the box rampart was levelled c1970 to allow the extension of the runway of the Yorkshire Gliding Club, which occupies the interior. The bank was virtually erased over a distance of 190m, but the remains of the ditch survive below the ground and are visible on aerial photographs. Rescue excavations in 1969-70 (Sources 3-4) revealed a flat bottomed ditch 6-7m wide and up to 2m deep and evidence of timber settings in the bank to the south. The unpublished section drawing may be open to reinterpretation, for the initial timber box rampart may have been reconstructed as a dump rampart, possibly with its outer face fonted by a drystone wall. No pottery was found but the style of the defences suggests an origin in the early/middle Iron Age, c600 BC.
On the SE side, the rampart has been damaged by afforestation but is still identifiable as a sizeable earthwork. Historic maps show that the entrance probably lay mid-way along the straight stretch of the box rampart on the N, levelled c1970. Other breaches have been created by later hollowed trackways, especially on the NE and SE. There may have been a second original entrance on the SE, since this is the only means of access from that direction. The dyke extending from the terminus of the box rampart to the edge of the Boar's Gill ravine suggests that the fort may have straddles the access route between the high and low ground.
For further details, see Archaeological Investigation Report AI/11/2001, which includes photographs, plans at various scales, section drawings redrawn from Pacitto's unpublished archives and a full textual description and analysis. (12-14)
This monument was mapped as part of the North York Moors National Park NMP, visible as earthworks on air photographs. Defined as described by authorities 1-12 above, with the exception of the northern area, levelled owing to the activity of the gliding club (UID 1346546), the features appear to be largely extant on the latest 2009 vertical photography. (15) |