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Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation Number 1155775 |
SWAAG Honorary President:
Tim Laurie F,S,A, |
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| Archaeological sites for investigation, by Mike Wood | |
| Life-long Richmondian and longstanding trustee of Richmondshire Museum, Mike Wood, led us on a fascinating canter through many archaeological sites within Swaledale. Mike has had a passion for archaeology since his father, a member of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, took him on archaeological explorations as a child. Mike was involved with the excavation of Cataractonium (Roman Catterick) by Sir Mortimer Wheeler and was present, aged 11, at the discovery of a Roman coffin at RAF Catterick, now Marne Barracks. Finds from this dig are now in Richmondshire Museum. Mike then showed us examples of the many sites he has explored over the years and which he thinks still merit investigation. These included cup and ring marks on the military range at Feldom, and the remains of the Scorton Cursus that survived destruction during the construction of Scorton’s wartime airfield and the A1 bypass in the 1950s. A question Mike posed is what was the purpose of Scots Dyke? Was it defendable and when was it constructed? Although an Anglo-Saxon spear has been found on it, was this a sign of a much older structure having been repurposed: luminescence tests on quartz found in the dyke near Gilling crossroads show a date of circa 500BC. A reflective study of the Swaledale landscape will always raise questions and reveal insights into over 3,000 years of history. These could be a burned mound that Mike showed us on Grinton Moor, the Saxon hogs-back grave marker found near there, an Iron Age hut circle or the massive stone block remains of an unidentified structure. It was also near there that Mike found fragments of a C13-C14 chafing dish – an early form of warming dish. Other sites that Mike has explored, and raised questions about, include: the Romano-British farmstead on the Applegarth terrace below Willance’s Leap, A possible Roman route from the Applegarth site down to the River Swale, and intriguing lines on an aerial photo that suggest a possible Roman villa south of the river by The Batts. An ancient mine entrance behind the Applegarth site suggested to Mike that this may have been an early Roman lead mine. His involvement with excavations at St. Nicholas House raised questions about the location of the pre-Norman vill of Hindrelac. Was St Nicholas House the site, or was it at St Edmunds on Anchorage Hill, or was it at St Mary’s. There is evidence to suggest each of these locations. What is certain is that an engraved medieval brass bell, that was sadly stolen from St Nicholas House at the time of its sale by Lady Serena, was not from the late Anglo-Saxon church. Mike then brought us up to date with a look at some magic-lantern slides from the early C20. They were proof that utility companies were as poor then at reinstating work on gas pipelines as they are today. |
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| News Record: 196 Updated: 26-01-2025 18:26:53 | |