Details

The monument includes a cross dyke of prehistoric date extending for 200m
north west to south east across a ridge on Battersby Moor.
The dyke is constructed of stone and earth and is crossed at its centre by a
modern trackway. To the north west of the track the dyke has a bank up to 1m
high and 5m wide with a ditch to its south up to 2m wide. To the south east
of the track the bank is discontinous and in places only the stone core is
visible whilst the ditch has been filled in over the years and is no longer
visible as an earthwork. To the north west the dyke ends in an area of marshy
ground. To the south east the dyke ends at a modern drainage ditch. Both ends
of the monument are thought to be the original terminations of the dyke. The
section of the dyke ditch lying to the north west of the track has been recut
in modern times.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Cross dykes are substantial linear earthworks typically between 0.2km and 1km
long and comprising one or more ditches arranged beside and parallel to one or
more banks. They generally occur in upland situations, running across ridges
and spurs. They are recognised as earthworks or as cropmarks on aerial
photographs, or as combinations of both. The evidence of excavation and
analogy with associated monuments demonstrates that their construction spans
the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although they may have been re-used
later. Current information favours the view that they were used as territorial
boundary markers, probably demarcating land allotment within communities,
although they may also have been used as trackways, cattle droveways or
defensive earthworks. Cross dykes are one of the few monument types which
illustrate how land was divided up in the prehistoric period. They are of
considerable importance for any analysis of settlement and land use in the
Bronze Age. Very few have survived to the present day and hence all well-
preserved examples are considered to be of national importance.

This section of dyke is well preserved as an earthwork and significant
archaeological remains will be retained within the bank and ditch. The dyke is
part of a wider system of boundaries and enclosures in this area of the North
York Moors. Together they provide an insight into the division and use of
the landscape during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, (1993)

Source: Historic England