Details

The monument includes a prehistoric linear earthwork, part of a wider system
of linear earthworks in this area of the Yorkshire Wolds, and an associated
settlement lying to the immediate south of the earthwork and visible on aerial
photographs.
The length of the earthwork included in the monument is 3700m, running west
from the head of Warren Dale. The earthwork is thought originally to have
continued further west than the west end of the monument but its survival and
extent beyond this point is unknown. The eastern end of the monument is
thought to mark an original break in the boundary system, with the alignment
continued further east by a separate earthwork. The earthwork is up to 36m
wide and consists of a bank flanked by ditches on either side. The ditches
are between 5m and 7m wide and are up to 1.75m deep. The bank is between 5m
and 10m wide and up to 2m high. The survival of the earthwork varies along
its length. It is best preserved at the eastern end of the monument and in
Black Wood, although in the latter area there has been disturbance by tree
planting. Elsewhere, the bank has been spread and the ditches in-filled as a
result of arable agriculture, although the line of the earthwork is visible on
aerial photographs and as a slight earthwork on the ground.
The settlement remains, which lie to the immediate south of the linear
earthwork in the area directly west of the monument to Sir Tatton Sykes, are
clearly visible on aerial photographs as buried features, although arable
agriculture has removed surface traces. The remains of hut circles,
enclosures and pens are indicated, covering an area about 520m long alongside
the linear earthwork and extending some 350m back from it. The form of the
settlement is prehistoric and it appears to post-date the construction of the
linear earthwork, although not necessarily by a long period of time.
The surface of the modern roads are excluded from the scheduling, although the
ground beneath them is included since the in-filled ditches of the earthwork
are considered to survive beneath them.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Linear boundaries are substantial earthwork features comprising single or
multiple ditches and banks which may extend over distances varying between
less than 1km to over 10km. They survive as earthworks or as linear features
visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs or as a combination of both. The
evidence of excavation and study of associated monuments demonstrate that
their construction spans the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although
they may have been re-used later.
The scale of many linear boundaries has been taken to indicate that they were
constructed by large social groups and were used to mark important boundaries
in the landscape; their impressive scale displaying the corporate prestige of
their builders. They would have been powerful symbols, often with religious
associations, used to define and order the territorial holdings of those
groups who constructed them. Linear earthworks are of considerable importance
for the analysis of settlement and land use in the Bronze Age; all well
preserved examples will normally merit statutory protection.

The linear earthwork at Sledmere is a well-preserved part of an extensive
system of prehistoric boundaries recorded on the Wolds. Taken together, the
linear earthwork and the associated settlement will provide an insight into
both prehistoric land division in the area and the developing patterns of
land-use through time.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Loughlin, N, Miller, K, Survey of Archaeological Sites in Humberside, (1979), 96
Other
CU BRA 99 SE9561/2 f.273, Cambridge University, (Ref CU BRA 99 SE956/2 f.273),

Source: Historic England