More information : NY 56506206 Tortie NR (1)
There is on the summit of a hill within the park (Naworth), a 14thc circular ring fort with double ramparts, c 40 yards diameter, known as Tower Tye or Tortie. (2-3)
An earthwork occupying a very commanding position but of rather weak proportions. It is circular and comprises rampart, ditch and counterscarp bank, the latter eroded away in places. Within the rampart is a slight inner, perhaps quarry ditch. There is no evidence of an entrance. Nowhere does the rampart exceed 1.2m above the ditch bottom, or 0.5m above the interior; the ditch itself is 0.5m deep. The interior is bracken covered and so far as on can judge, featureless. Curwens assessment of the work as medieval is unlikely although the lack of specific dateable characteristics makes a firm alternative impossible.
Published 1:2500 revised. (4)
NY 56506206 Tower Tye ringwork. This monument includes a circular earthwork having well defined defences which consist of an inner bank, a ditch, and an outer bank. The ringwork's flat interior measures approximately 40m in diameter and would originally have contained buildings. The inner bank running around the edge of the interior measures approximately 6m wide by 1m high. It is flanked by a ditch c2.5m wide by 0.5m deep which in turn is flanked by an outer bank measuring up to 5m wide by 0.5m high; scheduled. (5) |