part of the enclosure wall.
Images
Another orthostat – this one has been drilled.
This stone “collection” is roughly central to the enclosure.
this is the enclosure looking down from the hill above. From this angle it looks a lot less circular than when you are on a level with it. The meandering nature of the feature creates a definite early Iron Age feel – I’d suggest a lot earlier, given that this lead mining region saw it’s first period of expansion early in the Bronze Age.
This is one of the largest orthostats, the yellow thing beside it is my metre rule.
Articles
10 August 2003
We drove through Reeth up into the bottom of Arkengarthdale and parked around NZ027006, on the verge by the track to Castle Farm. We followed the track down to the river amongst trees (beautiful spot).
Across a bridge, back out into the now blazing sun and up the gentle slope towards the farm buildings.
In the fairly small enclosure to the right of the further farm house (Castle Farm itself according to the map), you can immediately see the ‘orthostatic’ walls of upright stones that the more modern walls seem to have been built onto – if I understand correctly.
As I know absolutely NOTHING about the subject, I suggest you read Brigantesnation’s fieldnotes.
Just to the left (north west) of the farm buildings is a stand of trees, on a bank littered with massive rocks, presumably from field clearance.
At the bottom of the bank where you approach it from the path leading along the valley, is a kind of ‘kerb wall’, possibly related to the orthostatic walls Brigantesnation talks about, or perhaps just a more modern effort to support the bank. We sat in perfect peace for a good few minutes before the walk (mainly uphill!) back to the car.
I’m not really sure what this is, other than it’s more than what it is currently used for – an animal enclosure. I visited this place on the way to the Gayle mines. There are two places locally called Castle – this place and Castle Knoll, at the top of the escarpment. But no obvious castle. Anyway, this enclosure comprises of a very rough circle of orthostats that have been left in situ and used to create an sheep enclosure. in the centre is a stone on top of a stone. From what I know about the region, these orthostatic walls were created at the very beginning of the clearance of the fields, an a guess I’d say that these were placed here during the late bronze age, as man made the transition to a farmer. However, they could be earlier – very little work has been done on these types of walls so far, although I have come across some partially cleared fields with orthostatic walls, associated to Iron Age type dwelling enclosures quite near to here so I’m pretty certain as to my interpretation.
The enclosure looks like it originally opened to go up the hil and a tight double wall of orthostats creates a narrow causeway which drives up the hill side for some way, then widens out in a similar way to what are known as “banjo enclosures” – creating a bottle neck or funnel into enclosure. These have so far been interprested as for animal use, however, my gut feel is that this was not the primary purpose here. About half way up the hill, just as you enter the mining zone the orthostats disappear. They don’t appear to have been taken, they just stop.
Sites within 20km of Castle, Nr Reeth
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Calverside Moor Neolithic Enclosure
link 1 -
Booze
photo 3 description 1 -
Reeth Strip Lynchets
photo 3 -
Grinton Round Barrow
photo 2 -
Maiden Castle (Grinton)
photo 20 forum 2 description 9 link 3 -
Harkerside Moor Circle
photo 14 forum 1 description 4 -
How Hill, Low Whita
photo 3 description 1 -
Holgate
description 1 link 2 -
Cock Howe
link 1 -
Frankinshaw Cairn
photo 2 description 1 -
How Tallon
photo 15 description 3 -
Osmonds Gill Cairn
photo 1 description 1 -
Eel Hill
photo 3 forum 1 description 3 -
Barningham Moor
photo 28 forum 2 description 4 link 2 -
Osmonds Gill
photo 7 forum 1 description 2 -
How Hill Swaledale
photo 1 -
Stone Man
description 1 -
Low Feldom Farm
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Downholme
photo 2 description 1 -
Gayles Moor
photo 25 description 2 link 2 -
Mudbeck
photo 2 description 1 -
Mudbeck
photo 5 description 1 -
Castle Steads, Gayles
photo 3 description 1 -
Thackwaite Beck
description 1 -
Whitcliffe Scar
description 2 -
Carperby
photo 9 forum 1 description 2 link 1 -
Aske Moor
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Aske Moor (Silver Hill)
description 1 -
Carperby B
photo 2 description 1 -
The Ravensworth Stone
photo 2 description 1 -
Bowes Barrows
description 1 -
Castle Dykes, Wensleydale
photo 12 description 4 link 2 -
Burton Moor
photo 1 forum 1 link 1 -
Haw Beck Burnt Mounds
photo 2 description 1 link 1 -
Dove Stones
description 1 -
Bainbridge Camp
photo 2 description 1 -
Addlebrough
photo 2 description 3 -
Devil’s Stone (Addlebrough)
description 1 -
Deepdale
photo 6 forum 2 description 1 -
Stony Raise (Addlebrough)
photo 2 description 4 link 1 -
Rey Cross
photo 2 forum 1 description 4 link 1 -
Castle Steads, Coverham
photo 2 link 1 -
Loup’s Hill
photo 4 description 2 -
The Butter Stone
photo 3 description 3 -
Flamstone Pin
description 1 -
Braithwaite Wood Hillfort
photo 3 description 1 link 1 -
Diana’s Well
description 2 -
Stanwick Fortifications
description 2 link 1 -
Goldsborough Rigg
photo 8 description 2 -
Cotherstone Moor
photo 4 description 2 -
Gayle Camp
description 1