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THE GIGGLESWICK SCAR PROJECT - Tom Lord
The Giggleswick Scar Project, is an an ecological and cultural community project operated by the North Craven Historical Research Group (funded from the Levy Scheme).
The Group recruited a range of experts who were skilled in the use of all the new techniques which are now available to archaeologists and landscape historians, especially in connection with dating. These experts included people from the British Museum and Yorkshire Universities, two of whom gave us talks in the afternoon session, ie Peter Vincent and Peter Wilson. The Group brought all their skills together to look at a small area of limestone landscape.
A late 18th century painting of part of the area showed that it had been a very open landscape but more wooded than it is today. However, the Group have been able to go back further and have started at the end of the Ice Age and move forward 20,000 years to the present time.
The area covered in the Project is from Settle to Feizor, it is well defined by the Craven fault which interestingly is also the north-western boundary of the ancient post-Roman kingdom of Craven. It is a limestone landscape with many interesting features, some visible others hidden such as caves and underground water systems including the famous Ebbing and Flowing Well (much visited in the late 19th century). One of the illustrations showed was of a pool with the water bubbling up in the centre from a spring from which concentric rings flowed outwards towards the edge, the effect bore a strong resemblance to much of the rock-art which can be found elsewhere.
Excavations of the area started in 1784 at the large Apron Full of Stones Cairn which is made partly with large slabs of limestone pavement and which the Group has been able to date to the Early Neolithic, c.3600 BC. Great Kelso Cave was excavated in 1840, Gigg Tarn in 1863 and then several other caves up to the Smearsett Earthworks in c.1970. The Group are collecting details covering not only these excavations but all the other archaeological features in the area and are reassessing the finds before compiling a full archive, along with any old photographs, articles etc.
They started with a walk-over survey which showed an ancient fieldscape containing mining evidence, the fault and early quarrying with lime burning features. John Thorp did a full Cave Survey looking at over 20 caves on Giggleswick Scar, detailing many for the first time. Stephanie Leach worked on the Human Bone Analysis from the caves.
The Group used the English Heritage Cave Audit but they have had many problems with it For instance, the EHCA gives the Kinsey Cave entrance as measured by them but photographs taken before the excavations in 1925-1931, show two youths standing on a much higher ground level…
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating was used to date cemented scree and an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) RC dating was used for the larger mammals which gave an earlier date than previous thought, 13000 BC. In Kinsey Cave their dates of 12600 BC show an earlier return of mammals after the Ice Age, other dates progress to 10800 BC; a big problem now is that the cave has become a badger set and they are disturbing the remaining material. A further date of a wolf bone from Sewell’s Cave is 11000 BC.
Skeletal evidence found in a rock-shelter showed that the bones of a man and three children dated from 3900 BC, this is currently the earliest date from anywhere in the Yorkshire Dales.
Impressed Neolithic pottery has been found in Lesser Kelso Cave and the survey has shown linked activity in some of the caves, eg Sewell’s, Hole, Kinsey and the two Kelsos, this questions whether some of the ground archaeology may also be linked…
Examination of bones from a female discovered in the 1930s excavation have now been dated to 2210-2030 BC and stress lesions have been found in her back - possibly from using a saddle quern? A highly magnified image has shown parallel striations on a vertebrae (just below her rib cage) most likely caused by a flint arrow head. For the arrow head to make that mark, it is thought that she would have been prone on the floor and the arrow would have severed an artery causing a great loss of blood leading to death. A man dated to exactly the same period, found in the outer ditch of Stonehenge, had been shot in the chest with 3 arrow heads. Tim Taylor’s interpretation was that our female was not buried, and Stephanie Leach has picked up evidence in caves of other violence and trauma on human bones, so it is possible that the female may have been a sacrificial offering as her death could have taken place in similar circumstances that of the peat bog bodies…
Romano-British metal objects were found in the excavations of 1933/34 when a cave was enlarged. All decorative objects similar to these are found around here (and not in the Ingleborough area). Kinsey, Sewell’s, Kelco, Jubilee, Victoria, Attermire and Dowky Bottom all have R-B activity and one suggestion is that the earlier people were ‘accessing underworld spirits’ in the same way as caves, say in Greece, were used to contact others – a very early ‘going on line? Because of the quality of the finds, it would seem that it was unlikely it was the locals who were leaving their belongings in the caves, perhaps it was the hierarchy who lived some distance away (there is a Roman Villa at Gargrave and the forts at Elslack and Ilkley, or perhaps even York) Tom’s animated illustration of this point made the whole audience chuckle when he suggested that here could be a Roman version of an internet café – ‘go to the caves in Craven to access the spirits of your ancestors!’
Tot Lord dug Feizor Cairn in 1936 and found a young male’s large long bones; it was thought that they were from an Iron Age ‘giant’ however we now know they are Anglo-Saxon (670-780 AD). The cairn sits in a Bronze Age landscape on the ancient Craven boundary and was probably reused in the AS period, however, although boundary burials are known they are usually of criminals, etc. ‘Long Man’s Grave’ is marked on a 1306 Boundary Charter near to Stainforth but evidence has yet to be found to confirm that the bones are the same and have at some time been moved to Feizor Cairn.
At this time there is much conjecture in their findings, but they hope to answer many of the questions in due course, obviously there is still a lot of research etc. to be done to complete the story of Giggleswick Scar.
Anyone with an interest was invited to call in at Proctor House, Settle, or attend the Day School in Settle on the 4th October 2008. They also have a small exhibition in Craven Museum, Skipton, and you can visit their website at www.northcravenheritage.org.uk
Pauline Dodsworth
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HISTORIC LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT CHARACTERISATION - Yvonne Luke (English Heritage)
HLMC was a pilot project, funded by English Heritage, which took place between April 2006 and April 2007. The aim of the project was to look at modern land use and current land management practises, and to explore their impact on the stability of the historic environment.
The area chosen for the project was a 10 km square block centred on Reeth in Swaledale, 90% of which lies in the YDNP. This area contains a multiplicity of different types of vegetation and land-cover, including moorland, woodland, farmland, settlement, etc.
Current land management practices are very complex and dependent on use and ownership of the land. For example, woodland may be owned by the Forestry Commission, a Charity such as the Woodland Trust, private ownership, etc. which will have huge implications for the way in which it is managed.
Planning policies will vary for villages and settlements, Conservation Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Open Access Land, Common Land, etc.
The approach to farming is also an important issue – various schemes have been established to encourage methods of farming which are more environmentally sensitive and sustainable.
The area also contains an exceptional variety of both visible and sub-surface archaeological and historic structures, ranging from Mesolithic camps and later prehistoric settlements, through Mediaeval field systems, post Mediaeval enclosures and farmsteads, to a great variety of domestic barns and ancillary farm buildings, lime kilns and remains of the lead industry.
This historic environment is part of the whole environment, so all of the above issues must be born in mind when aiming to understand modern land use and its management, and what is influencing it outside normal practice.
The area was divided into 9 categories of land use (HMLC Broad Types) and the largest of these – the Grouse Moor was chosen to illustrate the problems. The management of the Grouse Moor has both positive and negative effects on the environment. The creation of SSSI’s and controlled heather burning are positive, while the building of grouse butts, bird welfare procedures, creation of moorland scrapes, building and maintenance of moorland tracks using large machines, open access land, etc. may have a negative effect and are frequently dependent on the responsibility of the general public.
The project helped to crystallise and prioritise issues of the historic environment in the area, which may be similar elsewhere. The information gained can be used in conjunction with other data to predict areas of high vulnerability.
The details of the Project will be on the YDNPA website, together with the GIS database and an interactive map designed by Miles Johnson
Ruth Spencer
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FEEDING THE ROMAN ARMY OF OCCUPATION:BAINBRIDGE FORT - Sue Stallibrass (English Heritage)
The fort at Bainbridge in the Yorkshire Dales consists of a main fort and adjacent to it a secondary area consisting of the remains of timber and stone buildings with a potential date of late 1st to late 4th century. The fort was in principle a H.Q. and reused often through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries.
Industry was centred in the middle section of the fort although human bone was also discovered here. Also the remains of a hypocaust bath house or granary were located with a latrine block to the north-west behind the northern rampart. The latrine has produced preserved seeds, in particular raspberry and grape and fish bones.
Although excavated 1962 – 79 by Brian Hartley and Leeds University students Bainbridge Fort has not yet been analysed. However, Caroline Middleton, a Masters student from University of Liverpool analysed and reported on the bones for her Degree Thesis.
Preliminary findings suggest that the following animals were represented:
1,052 cattle bones which was 68% of the assemblage
345 sheep/goat bones 32% of the assemblage
158 pig bones 10% of the assemblage
In smaller quantities:
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Horse
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18
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Dog
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9
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Chicken
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14
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Goose
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6
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Red Deer
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52 of which 46 were antlers
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Auroch
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1
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Hare
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1
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Jack Snipe
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1
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The inclusion of red deer would suggest that there were large expanses of woodland areas and that these particular deer were exceptionally large in contrast with the smaller, modern day breed. Also large deer bearing large antlers indicates a substantial amount of woodland. Although horse bone was found this doesn’t imply that Bainbridge Fort was necessarily a cavalry fort as all forts had a need for horses to pull wagons etc. Evidence from cattle bone indicates that half the cattle died at 4 years old possibly for ‘prime meat’. This is a typically good age to kill, fat; hides and teeth were used to good advantage. More that half of this number of cattle were female although it would have been better practice to keep females alive longer to reproduce and to provide milk.
Cattle size and did it matter? Roman/British cattle raised in the west Pennines tended to be on the small, stocky size – approx. 1m high to their shoulder whereas cattle reared in the south east of England, the Midlands and Yorkshire were slightly built. Most cattle grew larger in time eventually reaching between 1m to 1.8m.
Small, stocky cattle tended to be hardy cattle and were good milkers and good mothers, they gave birth easily and were strong. They tended to live longer and produce larger carcasses – 165kg of meat could be preserved by smoking or drying which was well suited to a military fort. Apart from the value of ‘prime meat’ the stomach, checks, teeth and legs were also of use. Cattle were not only killed for food, old age, tax, marriages, religious ceremonies and accidents were common reasons.
Further analysis including pollen studies could indicate which cereals and trees were grown in the area.
Janis Heward
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RECENT QUERN RESEARCH IN AND AROUND THE DALES- John Cruse (Yorkshire Archaeological Society)
Early work on querns after World War 2, and by Sidney Jackson in the 1950s, led Don Spratt to set up the Yorkshire Quern survey (YQS) in 1985. Using a standardised system, a team of local reporters started to search the historic county, recording querns in private and public collections. By Don Spratt's death in 1992 - some 470 beehive querns and another 500 other Roman and early medieval querns had been archived.
David Heslop has recorded over 550 beehive quern from North Yorkshire and Teeside in a YAS monograph (currently on the threshold of publication).
The querns were included in the survey were found mainly in river valleys in a variety of locations, such as field walls and even built into the wall of a church. Those found on on archaeological sites were often found in ditches and the post holes for doors.
Details such as form, dimensions and location as well as a sketch, were recorded on a standardised recording sheet. It appears that the taller forms of the beehive querns come from Wharfedale and the more squat forms from Cumbria, the Wolds and Teeside; there appears to be no regional significance in the shape of the hopper. In order to make the deep holes in the stone for handles and the hopper iron drill bits were required which explains their appearance from around 500 bc, they remained in use for around 700 years. There was also some evidence of querns being used used for grinding metal ores and some were reused as ingot moulds
Beehive querns are often found 20 or so miles from the source of the stone. Evidence of “ritual” destruction and burial of querns has been found and is possibly associated with the death of the owner.
From this work, we are starting to understand how querns were manufactured, which stone sources were employed, how querns were treated (once their milling days were over) and where their final resting places were.
Also see here
Alan Williams
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL PUZZLES SURROUNDING LATE MESOLITHIC COLLUVIAL LOESSIC SILTS OF THE MALHAM AREA - Peter Vincent
This presentation discussed research undertaken by members of the North Craven Research Group during 2006 – 2007, on colluvial loessic silts of the Malham area and North West England.
Silty soils on limestone are mainly derived from windblown sediment from the end of the ice-age. Loess is the abraided material moved by glaciation, transported by glacial meltwater and then by dust storms. It was blown over the limestone pavements forming rounded runnels in the limestone (angular runnels were formed by ice), and caught in the dykes. The vegetative hollows may have up to .5 metre of silt and are known as dolines. Plants present, such as heather, and bracken indicate well drained soil.
From OSL dating of loess from Dowky Bottom, Abbott Hills and New Close at Malham, it was found that it had been disturbed in the late Mesolithic, approx. 8.2ka and 9.3ka, and very little in the Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age.
What might have caused this disturbance? It was suggested that the 8.2k event might be due to climate change – for several hundred years the climate was wetter and colder, releasing more fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean, thus causing a rise in sea-levels.
Also a suggestion that it could be due to the burning by hunter-gatherers – small amounts of micro charcoal have been found. Large animals such as red deer, aurochs, and wild boar may have moved inland, due to the rise in sea-levels, thus overgrazing and so causing the emergence of the limestone pavements.
Probably all these suggestions may have had some effect on the disturbance – similar effects have been found in Arizona, China and Germany. The apparent soil stability in the Neolithic and later could possibly be due to the aurochs being hunted to extinction in the Mesolithic.
Further information may be found on the NCHRG website (a large .pdf file). Also hard copy is obtainable from the YDNPA.
Ruth Spencer
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SHEEP CREEPS AND HENNERY PIGGERIES - Mile Johnson (YDNP)
The first year of Feature of the Season (FoS) has been an experiment in developing and running a volunteer based survey project.
FoS is intended to enhance the National Park Authority's Historic Enviroment Record (HER), through volunteers finding, recording and photographing different historic features. These features, structures and buildings form part of the everyday landscape of the Yorkshire Dales.
Features launched so far include:-
Churn Stands
Stock Underpasses
Stone Troughs
Hennery and Piggeries
Loose Rail Gate Posts (Stoops) with L shape cut outs to take wooden bars (Stangs). The corresponding post usually had a round hollows in which to lodge the bars. Look for other shaped cut outs also present on posts.
Turbary Stones ( Mark rights of Peat Cutter, expect to find initials)
Emphasis will be on one type of feature for a period – hence The Feature of the Season, however anything relevant will be welcomed. The most important information is a description and a grid reference. These features are present throughout the YDNP area,and with greater accessibility from open access more will be discovered. Volunteers are asked to take photos and grid references of anything they may discover which will fit into the small features category.
The FoS website provides an easy way to collate and display the information that volunteers collect about features. As well as being imported into the HER, images and data about the features visited are archived online, so that anyone who has an interest can see the project archive as it develops over the weeks and months.
Features recorded as part of the FoS project will be incorporated into the (HER) which is a key resource for planning, conservation and research purposes. There are around 29,000 records stored. The HER contains information in a wide range of formats. HERs are becoming more holistic, encompassing the broader historic environment, HERs are likely to be made mandatory in the future, the YDNPA needs to re-assess and expand what goes into the HER.
What FoS needs now is more volunteers – if you are interested in becoming a volunteer please email
S Wilkinson
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FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WAR SITES IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES:SOME ASPECTS OF THEIR ARCHAEOLOGY - Shaun Richardson (Ed Dennison Archaeological Services)
Shaun Richardson prefaced his presentation with a warning that his unconventional approach to archaeology might cause some offence to a few people – his caution was due to the focus of his talk moving from discussion of regional archaeological evidence of the two World Wars onto the place of German bomb shelters within the current attitudes towards the recent past. The question is – what subjective judgments do we make in deciding what is worth respecting as an archaeological monument to the past?
Examples of local sites included Fairacre Cottage near Kearton, in North Swaledale. Inside this unassuming late 17th century farm building the plasterwork on the walls is decorated with naïve graffiti, probably the work of local boys, which appear to depict not only a once well-known local character, but also Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler, and a soldier. The remains of a silk parachute have been used to block a draughty hole in the wall. Although such naïve graffiti may not be considered by many as being little more than passing curiosity, this site could also be regarded as a powerful illustration of how the wars impacted directly upon the consciousness of individuals. As such, it is as worthy of preservation as any major piece of defence architecture
From the almost ephemeral evidence of graffiti, Shaun moved onto to timber, which is almost as vulnerable to the ravages of time. A fine example stands within a couple of miles of Grassington at Linton Camp, Threshfield, now in danger of disappearing altogether as discussions over its future continue to linger on. Built in 1939 by the National Camps Association to provide a place of refuge for evacuees from Bradford, this was one of 31 such camps around the UK. Canadian cedar weatherboarding was used to complete the concrete and brick bases of the long huts which housed the dormitories and facilities. Only the toilet block and boiler house were completely brick built. The historical importance of these sites is generally poorly appreciated, yet with their disappearance a vital link to the experiences of hundreds of thousands of children in the Second World War is lost.
Earthworks are a staple of archaeological sites, and a good example of a recent military defence earthwork can be found at Cracoe, where searchlight battery emplacements look deceptively like ancient ruins. This site was associated with an army training camp, and careful investigation can show up the location of the sandbag pits, predictor emplacements and hut bases. With luck, Shaun hopes to carry out a full topographical survey of the site. Ironically, such sites can often be confused with Romano-British sites, and it was not uncommon for Roman period earthworks to be re-used during the Second World War for defensive structures.
The most enduring form of Second World War site is the concrete structure. It was at this point that Shaun turned away from the conventional and took a rather different approach to the archaeology of the Second World War, by focusing upon the German experience as it related to the hochbunkers – large public air raid shelters. For many Germans these represent a direct and very painful link to the recent past, especially since so many were built using slave labour, and they remain a visible, sharp reminder of Nazi ideology.
The vast majority of the 84,000 public shelters built in Hamburg alone are disused and have been left to decay. Recently, much public controversy has been taking place over the issue of their preservation. Yet only 17 are legally protected. Shaun argues that these hochbunkers deserve a second look. They are often very distinctive in style – the earliest examples being gothic style structures, later replaced by more utilitarian “Battle towers”. Should such structures be retained for their own sake as historical architecture, or as memorial to the victims of Allied bombing? To what extent should we take into consideration the feelings of those for whom such structures are not “archaeology” but a very real part of their own lives?
The plaster work at Fairacre Cottage is delicate in nature, and the future of the cottage itself is in doubt; the timber constructions at Linton Camp are falling into disrepair and the future of the site again in serious doubt; the military function of the earthworks at Cracoe are quickly being forgotten, even by local people; The hochbunkers of Hamburg are in danger of being left to completely decay because they are too painful a reminder of the recent past.
It would be easy to assume that recent sites are less prone to obliteration, but many have already disappeared totally from view, or have been destroyed by demolition, neglect, or subsequent building. As the First and Second World Wars fall further back into history and out of the realm of living memory, the significance of the remaining structures and sites should become of greater interest to archaeologists. Surely then, the time to preserve them and investigate them is right now, before so many of them disappear for good, and the evidence from them becomes just as elusive as on many early modern, medieval or prehistoric sites.
For further information:
Shaun Richardson – “The archaeology of destruction” (forthcoming book)
Ed Dennison Archaeological Services http://edarchserv.co.uk/ (web site under construction)
Conservation Bulletin 44: The Archaeology of Conflict (English Heritage, June 2003, available online at http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.10512 )
Lowry, B. (ed.) - 20th century defences in Britain: an introductory guide (Handbook of the Defence of Britain Project. Revised edition, 1996)
Recent Military Heritage
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.6083/setPaginate/No
Council of British Archaeology Defence of Britain Project : http://www.britarch.ac.uk/projects/dob/index.html
The pillbox study group http://www.pillbox-study-group.org.uk/
Pillboxes UK - http://www.pillboxesuk.co.uk/
Denison, Simon – “Fortress Britain” (British Archaeology, 65, June 2002) , http://www.britarch.ac.uk/BA/ba65/feat1.shtml
National Media Museum Film archive of Mayor’s visit to Linton Camp http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/learning/britonsatwar/detail.asp?topicnum=2&id=29
This film from 1944 shows a visit to Linton Camp by the Mayor of Bradford, Alderman Cecil Barnett, and other councillors, wives and their children.
Peter Hartingdon’s Linton Camp pages - http://www.hartingdon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=5&Itemid=53
Photographs of hochbunkers from collection of von Hartmut Klose -
http://www.luftschutzbunker-wilhelmshaven.de/klose/klose.html
Jane Lunnon
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