Secrets of prehistory laid bare, thanks to a bulldozer

IT WAS over in a matter of seconds, levelling a piece of history that had stood the test of time for more than 2,500 years.

In an attempt to reclaim part of the North York Moors for farmland 50 years ago a bulldozer flattened an Iron Age hill fort that had stood near Sutton Bank since about 800BC.

But the heartbreaking destruction which occurred in 1961 has ironically paved the way for the largest archaeological dig ever commissioned by the North York Moors National Park Authority.

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A team of up to 40 archaeology students and volunteers are taking part in the excavations at Boltby Scar to establish the extent of the damage caused by the bulldozer.

The dig is also trying to delve into the history of the moors as far back as the Bronze Age as a dozen 4,000-year-old burial mounds are located in the area around Boltby Scar.

It is hoped that the work will help piece together the extremely sketchy evidence that has been compiled during previous archaeological digs which have taken place at the site from the Victorian era onwards.

The national park authority’s senior archaeological conservation officer, Graham Lee, said: “While there is evidence of human activity at Boltby Scar dating from the Bronze Age, we actually know very little about what happened.

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“This is an extremely exciting dig as it is attempting to find out more about the landscapes around us today and how they have evolved over the passing centuries.

“The damage that was caused in 1961 by the bulldozer has actually given us the opportunity to do just that, because English Heritage does not often give permission to excavate a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

“It is an interesting balance, because while we would much rather the site was still there intact, the fact that it has been damaged has given us the opportunity to examine it in real detail.”

The dig, which began at the end of April and is due to continue until the end of this month, has already established that up to two-thirds of the Iron Age fort has been destroyed.

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Part of the rampart and ditch as well as some internal earthworks are all that remain after the bulldozer levelled the site, taking off up to eight inches of top soil in the process.

But it is hoped that the excavations will nonetheless shed new light on the history of the site, including the series of burial mounds. A dig which was carried out by an archaeologist, George F Willmot, in the 1930s unearthed gold hair ornaments which are now on display in the British Museum in London.

While Mr Lee admitted that the artefacts found in the latest dig are limited so far to some Iron Age pottery and pieces of flint, the most important discoveries are linked to the environment. Peat deposits and pollen discovered in the soil have revealed that the area remained pasture for far longer than previously thought before climate change transformed it into moorland.

It had initially been thought that the land around Sutton Bank would have become moors during the Roman era, although the new evidence suggests that the environmental changes happened much later in the sixth or seventh centuries.

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The lack of actual artefacts has led archaeologists to believe that Boltby Scar was a temporary camp for traders from as far afield as the Scottish Borders heading to a much larger Iron Age hill fort at nearby Roulston Scar.

Roulston Scar is now the home of the Yorkshire Gliding Club as well as one of the largest Iron Age hill forts in the North of England.

The evidence that is being collated at the excavations will be analysed over the summer before it is hoped a more detailed picture emerges.

The dig is being directed by a freelance archaeologist, Prof Dominic Powlesland, from the Landscape Research Centre at Yedingham, near Pickering, who is overseeing a team of undergraduates from York University along with some volunteers.

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Mr Lee said: “The work has already thrown up some extremely exciting ideas, and it has given us the chance to have a look at the history of the North York Moors in a manner we have not been able to do in the past.

“While there have been several other archaeological digs from as far back as the Victorian era, they have not been done on this scale.

“We are very hopeful that we will begin to provide a more in-depth understanding of the landscape and how the previous inhabitants lived once the finds have been studied over the summer.”

He added: “This is about giving the public a greater understanding of the area, which has remained largely unrecognised for all these years.”

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