Re: Skipsea now recognised as Iron age. | Forum

Skipsea Castle 1

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Skipsea

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Yorkshirepedestrian Oct 3, 2016 14:11:19

Replying to Monganaut

My brother texted me with this story this morning and I've just headed here to see that I've been beaten to it!
I was so excited to read it, but a little disappointed that the mound is only iron age--I really hoped it'd be older and related to the gypsy race monuments of Rudston and Willy Howe...that would have been staggeringly important.

But this is still really cool news for a Monday morning.
I wonder how big the iron age mound was because skipsea castle's "motte" is huge.
I want to get back there now and check it out.
Funny, I was there just a couple of weeks ago, musing on its ancient vibes.
Good old mister Ainsworth was correct!
He usually was on time team though. Before the earth had even been broken he'd often solved the site's mysteries by just walking and thinking.
I'm definitely prone to wild speculation about humps and bumps.
The council estate where I live is part of a vast druidic ritual landscape....

Monganaut Oct 3, 2016 16:12:53

Replying to Yorkshirepedestrian

Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised that if (big 'if' I know) they get to use ground penetrating radar or even dig it, that they find it's older still for all the reasons I stated above. Would be great if it could be linked to the Gyspy Race etc.... though of coarse, that is wild speculation.
I'm a firm believer that if we spend enough time out and about in the wilds, we develop a sense of what looks natural and what looks interfered with by human hand. I do believe that like Ainsworth, you can learn to 'read' a landscape, if only a little. Anyoo, well done you fer spotting/noting it's possibly older origins.

Anyhoo, a little off topic, but I read a review of this book by Nicolas Crane 'The Making Of The British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present' the other day, and sounds like it might be worth a punt. Have read a few of his books, and while I don't really like his presenter style on TV, have found him to be an honest and engaging writer.
I'm sure it covers similar topics to the Francis Pryor book 'The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today', so takes yer pick. I'm sure both follow in the footsteps of W G Hodgkis 'The Making of the English Landscape', but obvs cover Scotland, Wales and Possibly Ireland, as well as the myriad of Islands in our not so little archipelago.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/30/making-of-british-landscape-nicholas-crane-review

Evergreen Dazed Oct 3, 2016 17:18:05

Replying to Yorkshirepedestrian

Yorkshirepedestrian wrote:

I wonder how big the iron age mound was because skipsea castle's "motte" is huge.

Hi Yorkshirepedestrian,

I asked Jim this very question this morning and he replied with dimensions of 13m high, 85m diameter, which I believe is the entire Skipsea mound.

I'm a little surprised by this, as i'd imagined an original IA mound which had been enlarged when the castle was built.

If the entire thing is IA, then...blimey.