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Yarnbury Henge

Henge

<b>Yarnbury Henge</b>Posted by Chris CollyerImage © Chris Collyer
Nearest Town:Skipton (14km S)
OS Ref (GB):   SE014653 / Sheet: 98
Latitude:54° 4' 60" N
Longitude:   1° 58' 42.95" W

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<b>Yarnbury Henge</b>Posted by juamei <b>Yarnbury Henge</b>Posted by Chris Collyer <b>Yarnbury Henge</b>Posted by stubob

Fieldnotes

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The henge sits on a small plateau of land with Wharfdale to the west and Hebden Beck to the east. To answer Stu's question about views, it's mainly hills in the near and middle distance with a gap to the east and a larger view down towards the south across the Grassington area. The henge itself is a tiny little thing, English Heritage give it's measurements as a 20-22 metre internal area surrounded by a 3.5 metre wide ditch and then a 3-4 metre wide bank. The bank is made of stone and earth and covered with turf with a single causeway to the southeast. As Stu notes there is a large area that has been quarried away in recent times but considering the amount of mining close by and the fact that the henge is so small and seemingly forgotten about it's done well to survive.
Crossing over the wall and into the field I had to disturb a flock of sheep to get to the henge, these critters and the position of the site with hills around gave me the idea that it could well have formed a local meeting point for stock trading and well as other ceremonies that we might expect at such places, but only serving a small local community. I couldn't really picture people travelling great distances to get here - definitely a local henge for local people.
Chris Collyer Posted by Chris Collyer
7th November 2003ce

This is a lovely little Yorkshire Henge.
As Stu states, it's a bit battered and worn but what matters is that it's still there.
fitzcoraldo Posted by fitzcoraldo
9th September 2003ce

The henge was still in a heavy mist when me and Fitz arrived so we didn't get to see the surrounding landscape......pity, but hey...

The place is tiny (compared to other henges I've seen) and the bank is very low...the entrance is damaged and there's a small quarry hole that destroys some of the banking.....Overall at top site tho'....
stubob Posted by stubob
8th September 2003ce
Edited 8th September 2003ce

Miscellaneous

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Details of henge on Pastscape

[SE 0141 6541] (1) A disc barrow at Yarnbury. (1-2)
This feature, although described as a disc barrow, has no vestige of a central mound and seems too well preserved for any removal of such a mound to have taken place. As it now stands, the earthwork has the appearance of a small Class I Henge Monument, as both internal ditch and single entrance are clearly defined. Mr. D. Dymond of R.C.H.M. (York) also considers this to be a small 'henge', and, hopes to excavate the site in 1964 Surveyed at 1:2500. (3)
Yarnbury Henge Monument SE 016657. Excavated in 1964. The enclosure consists of a circular earthwork 116 ft. in diameter overall with an internal ditch,and an original entrance in the SE.The ditch was rock-cut and the bank of simple dump construction. No dating evidence and no traces of internal structures were found. Class I. (5)
Situated at SE 01416541 on a slight rise is a Class I Henge measuring 31.0m diameter between the centres of a turf-covered stony bank, about 4.0m wide 0.5m maximum height, with an internal ditch about 3.0m wide 0.5m maximum depth. The single entrance 2.0m wide is in the SE. About 13.0m to the N of the entrance the bank and ditch have been destroyed by modern quarrying about 10.0m in diameter which has sectioned the bank revealing its content of earth and stone.
There is a slight mutilation to the bank and ditch about 2.0m to the W of the entrance. There is no trace of the 1964 excavations.
Surveyed at 1:10 000. (6) SE 0141 6541. Yarnbury henge monument. Scheduled RSM No 24480. (7) No 217. Yarnbury, Grassington. Classified as 'hengiform'. (8)
Chance Posted by Chance
28th December 2014ce

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Posted by BrigantesNation
6th August 2003ce