West Akeld Steads Henge |
| Hob Uid: 3781 | |
Location :
Northumberland
Akeld
|
| Grid Ref : NT9588030700 |
| Summary : A late Neolithic henge monument, visible as a cropmark circular enclosure of 35 metres maximum internal diameter, and a ditch up to 7.5 metres wide. There is one visible entrance. A possible second, directly opposite, is obscured by a hedge. Also visible as cropmarks is an internal ring of pits within and concentric to the ditch, while a further smaller central circle of pits appears to surround a large central pit. |
More information : [NT 95863070] Cropmark. Ring ditch. (1)
No visible remains. The site falls in flat featureless arable fields. (2)
Examination of the site during the dry summer of 1976 revealed that the ditch's external diameter was circa 36m. and the ditch itself was 6.7m. wide. There were also traces of two possible entrances. Inside the ditch was an internal ring of evenly spaced pits. A ring of nine smaller pits encircled a central pit probably a grave. From this evidence it is thought that the cropmarks represent a henge monument. (3)
NT 958 307. West Akeld Steads, Akeld. A classic henge appears as a sub-oval cropmark on a sand and gravel terrace at c.44m above OD, some 400-500m to the N of the River Glen. The internal diameter ranges from c.27m to 35m (estimated from partial transcription), the ditch is between 5m and 7.5m wide. Nearby lie three smaller circuar sites, possibly barrows. (4)
NT 959 307. Henge 600yds (550m) E of Akeld Lodge. Scheduled No. ND/532. (5)
Additional bibliography and published aerial photograph. (6)
A henge monument occupies level ground at 50m AOD. The monument takes the form of an almost circular ditch with an external diameter of c. 50m north-east to south-west by 45m north-west to south-east. The ditch is up to 10m broad on the north-eastern and south-western sides but narrows perceptibly in the north-western and south-eastern quadrants where there are opposed entrances. Within the ditch is a concentric ring of pits of which about ten are visible on aerial photographs. Further pits are visible in the interior of the monument and a possible grave pit is centrally placed within it. According to current OS maps a shelter belt has been planted over the western part of the (scheduled) monument and likewise over two ring ditches outside it to the west (see HOBUID 1373253). Numerous ice wedge casts are visible in the vicinity. (7)
Aerial photograph references. (1, 8-17)
The site has been mapped from the air as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeology Project. (See archive object MD000296) |