Sponsored by
Neolithic site is North's answer to Stonehenge
DEEP in the North Yorkshire countryside, largely unknown and unnoticed, lies one of Britain's most important Neolithic sites.
The three banked and ditched circular enclosures, or henges, at Thornborough near Masham, which date back 6,000 years, are part of a concentration of monuments stretching south-west roughly parallel with the course of the River Ure and rivalling World Heritage sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury.
Now academics and local enthusiasts have launched a campaign to raise the profile of the Thornborough Henges, which were largely neglected by archaeologists until the early 1980s. They are now the subject of increasingly intensive investigation.
The Friends of Thornborough are worried that tentative proposals to extend sand and gravel extraction at nearby Nosterfield Quarry could pose a threat to the integrity of the setting of the henges, which are scheduled ancient monuments.
Together with three other henges at Nunwick and Hutton Moor, near Ripon, and the Devil's Arrows near Boroughbridge, they are thought to have been one of prehistoric Britain's premier sacred landscapes.
Now the Friends are staging an open day to give the public a chance to find out more about the earthworks, which have a diameter of 240 metres and are thought to have been, at their zenith, a centre for religious ritual worship drawing pilgrims from across the North.
Although there were rudimentary excavations in the late 19th century and further fieldwork in the 1950s, detailed investigation of the site had to wait until 1994 when archaeologist Dr Jan Harding of Newcastle University started a five-year research project.
His study revealed the site probably developed over a period of 1,000 years. Worked flints suggested people from the Pennines and the Yorkshire coasts travelled there while polystone axe heads originating from Langdale in Cumbria suggested Thornborough attracted visitors from even further afield.
Dr Harding, who is starting an English Heritage-backed research project at Thornborough in the summer, said: "This is a site of major international importance. The henges represent the largest collection of Neolithic monuments outside southern England. They are the Neolithic equivalents of a cathedral and must have taken hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of labour hours to construct."
He added: "Unfortunately, they have suffered from being in the North. If Thornborough had been on the chalklands of Sussex or Wiltshire everybody would know about it by now."
A member of the Friends of Thornborough Dick Lonsdale said: "We want to raise the profile of the area, which we believe should be designated a World Heritage site.
"There has been a great deal of destruction of the landscape in the area already and we want raise public awareness of what is there because this is such an important site for the whole of the North of England.
"I'm a concerned local and I want to see the area safeguarded. It is absolutely fabulous what's there and it is something which more people should know about."
A spokeswoman for Tarmac Northern, which operates Nosterfield Quarry, said the company was still working on plans for possible sand and gravel extraction on Thornborough Moor though a smaller extension unconnected with the site was likely to be submitted to North Yorkshire County Council within weeks.
The open day will take place on Saturday at West Tanfield Memorial Hall starting at 2pm when apart from hearing a presentation by Dr Harding, people will be able to handle some of the prehistoric finds from the area and see a virtual reality presentation of the monuments' astronomical orientation.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
