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Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
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In February 2003, myself and a rambling buddy were wandering the moors above Ilkley. We noticed the heather had been recently burned off for the grouse to feast on the young shoots, leaving the huge enclosure at Woofa bank visible. Climbing down, I paced the low rubble walls to be about 50 meters in diameter. The site holds various cup-marked rocks, one of which is actually part of the wall. In fact the plateau contains up to a third of the carved rocks of the moor. An enclosure nearby (at Green Crag Slack) is tentatively dated at Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (Edwards and Bradley 1999). In the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze age the whole area was covered in light scrub, with hazel, alder, birch and pine covering the plateau, according to pollen analysis. It has also been suggested that a shallow lake may have occured here. Not only were conditions favourable for settling, the area is thought to have been part of a major trade route across the Pennines.
Did you find the little well that lies roughly north, Ken? Dunno how old it is but it's very 'well' preserved!
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Posted by David Raven
13th November 2003ce
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