On the opposite side of the hill it is steeper and the underlying soil and superficial deposits are visible. The natural deposits are glaciofluvial in origin, with rounded pebbles from glacial meltwater (~2Ma), and appear to reach very close to the peak, making me think that it is natural. There was more to this hill in the past as it originally had two peaks (hence saddle hill because of the saddle-like dip between the peaks (although a writer of the Stonyhurst Magazine argues that it derives from Shale-hill I find this unlikely since the name was used by Stonyhurst Boys rather than actual locals, and so was likely just an observation of the hill's shape rather than a derivation of an supposed old local name for it)), but the western peak was quarried away from the 1940s onwards as the natural deposits made it excellent for gravel quarrying. However, just a little bit south of the hill is Winckley Lowe I, which has brought up some bronze age remains, and two other tumuli of disputed age are nearby too, so there could be something to the claims of something artificial possibly being placed as an addition to the peak of the hill, so I'll look into finding more about this in future. I'm not much of an archaeologist myself, but I know the land owners and some metal detectorists if that's useful.
 Reply | with quote | Posted by CalumMcLennan
3rd May 2021ce
16:15 |
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Head To Head 
Re: Cross Gills Mound (ryaner)