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Historic England Research Records

Scots Dyke

Hob Uid: 625308
Location :
North Yorkshire
Richmondshire
County Durham
Aldbrough, Gilling with Hartforth and Sedbury, Richmond, Aske, Easby, Melsonby, Caldwell, Eppleby, Barforth, St. Martin's, Stanwick St. John, Forcett, Skeeby
Grid Ref : NZ1750012800
Summary : Once thought to be a 6th or 7th century territorial boundary, it has been dated to the early-mid Iron Age by excavations 2006-7. It survives in places as a linear earthwork consisting of a bank and ditch. A section 80m long in St Martin's parish is Scheduled.
More information : Scots Dyke was once a very strong earthwork of bank and ditch (in places a medial bank and two ditches, or vice versa) running north-South reputedly between the Tees at Gainford and the Swale near Richmond - and continuing a little distance beyond the Swale, and perhaps also beyond the Tees northward (Route and grid references derived from Maclauchlan)(1)
The name `Scots Dyke' is accepted as a matter of course by Victoria County History (2) although Maclauchlan does not use it and there is no mention in English Place Names Society Yorkshire - North Riding volume.
Much has been made of it as part of a continuous work running from Roxburgh into Yorkshire, under various names; but it is virtually certain that various independent features of somewhat similar character have been grouped together.
The dating and purpose have not been established, but the general feeling seems to be that it was a Dark Age boundary. The interesting association with the Stanwick fortifications (NZ 11 SE 2) which may be simply fortuitous, has not been explored. (1-4)

Annotations added to map strips and re-survey of earthwork sections in 1967 (5),1970 (6), and 1974 (7) in Linear Archive File (8)

Scots Dyke was built to consolidate territorial and economic units in response to changing political circumstances during the sixth and seventh centuries AD. (9)

Scheduled. For the designation record of this site please see The National Heritage List for England. (10-11)

One of the most significant results of the excavations 2006-7 along the line of the A66 by Oxford Archaeology North, was the important new dating evidence for a section of the Scots Dyke. It is a substantial linear earthwork between the Rivers Tees and Swale. It has been dated to the early-middle Iron Age, which places it within the wider Iron Age and Roman landscape revealed by the road improvement scheme. (12)

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Source Number : 1
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Source details : Maclauchlan H. maps
Page(s) : 221-229
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Vol(s) : 6, 1849
Source Number : 2
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Page(s) : 55
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Source Number : 11
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Source details : English Heritage. 2015. ‘English Heritage: The National Heritage List for England’, < http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1018143 > [Accessed 13-JAN-2015]
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Source Number : 12
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Vol(s) : Lancaster Imprints 18
Source Number : 3
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Source details : Record 6" (OGS Crawford 1935)
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Source Number : 4
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Source details : Best M E.
Page(s) : 8
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Vol(s) : 1964
Source Number : 5
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Source details : A N King/17-APR-1967/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator
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Source Number : 6
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Source details : R E Emsley /17-JUN-1970/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator
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Source Number : 7
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Source details : B H Pritchard/24-OCT-1974/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator
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Source Number : 8
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Source details : Ordnance Survey Linear Archive File LINEAR 42 in NMRC
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Source Number : 9
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Source details : English Heritage SAM Assessment of Importance 08-NOV-1995
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Source Number : 10
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Source details : 29-APR-1998, District of Richmondshire
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Monument Types:
Monument Period Name : Iron Age
Display Date : early-mid Iron Age
Monument End Date : 699
Monument Start Date : 500
Monument Type : Boundary
Evidence : Earthwork
Components and Objects:
Related Records from other datasets:
External Cross Reference Source : Scheduled Monument Legacy (National No.)
External Cross Reference Number : 29543
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : Unified Designation System UID
External Cross Reference Number : 1018143
External Cross Reference Notes :
External Cross Reference Source : National Monuments Record Number
External Cross Reference Number : LINEAR 42
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Associated Activities :
Activity type : EXCAVATION
Start Date : 1964-01-01
End Date : 1964-12-31
Associated Activities :
Activity type : WATCHING BRIEF
Start Date : 1992-01-01
End Date : 1992-12-31
Associated Activities :
Activity type : EVALUATION
Start Date : 2004-01-01
End Date : 2004-12-31
Associated Activities :
Activity type : EXCAVATION
Start Date : 2006-01-01
End Date : 2007-12-31
Associated Activities :
Activity type : WATCHING BRIEF
Start Date : 2007-01-01
End Date : 2008-12-31