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Thornborough Henges


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The three henges  of the Thornborough Henges complex

The *Thornborough Henges* is an unusual ancient monument complex that
includes the three aligned henges that give the site its name. The complex
is located near the village of Thornborough , close to the town of Masham
in North Yorkshire , England . The complex includes many large ancient
structures including a cursus , henges , burial grounds and settlements.
They are thought to have been part of a Neolithic and Bronze Age 'ritual
landscape' comparable with Salisbury Plain and date from between 3500 and
2500 BC. This monument complex has been called 'The Stonehenge of the
North' and has been described by English Heritage as the most important
ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys.


Contents

[hide ]

* 1 Cursus 
* 2 Henges 
* 3 Beltane 
* 4 Quarrying 
* 5 External links 


[edit ] Cursus

The cursus is the oldest and largest ancient monument at Thornborough. It
is almost a mile in extent and runs from Thornborough Village, under the
(later) central henge and terminates close to the River Ure in a broadly
east/west alignment.

Cursi are perhaps the most enigmatic of ancient monuments. They typically
comprise two parallel ditches, the larger of which can be a mile or more
in extent, cut to create a "cigar shaped" enclosure. Typically, burial
mounds and mortuary enclosures are found alongside cursus monuments
indicating that they probably had a ceremonial function.


[edit ] Henges

The three henges are almost identical in size and composition, each having
a diameter of approximately 240 metres and two large entrances situated
directly opposite each other. The henges are located around 550 m apart on
an approximate northwest-southeast alignment, although there is a curious
'dogleg' in the layout. Altogether, the monument extends for more than a
mile.

Archaeological excavation of the central henge has taken place. It has
been suggested that its banks were covered with locally mined gypsum . The
resulting white sheen would have been striking and visible for miles
around. A double alignment of pits, possibly evidence of a timber
processional avenue, extends from the southern henge.

The 'dogleg' in the layout appears to cause the layout of the henges to
mirror the three stars of Orion's Belt . The exact purpose of the henges
is unclear though archaeological finds suggest that they served economic
and social purposes as well as astronomical ones.

The Northern henge is currently overgrown with trees but is one of the
best preserved henges in Britain. The Central and Southern henges are in
poorer condition although the banks of the henges are still quite
prominent, especially in the case of the Central henge. To gain a full
appreciation of the scale of the monument it is best viewed from the air.


[edit ] Beltane



The May King and Queen, Thornborough Central Henge, Beltaine 2005

All three of the Thornborough henges and the narrow strip of land
connecting them are Scheduled Ancient Monuments . However, the land is
privately owned and there is no official public access. Despite this, the
site does have a steady stream of visitors throughout the year. Since 2004
there has been an opportunity for public access to the central henge,
which is owned by Tarmac Northern Ltd. (
http://www.tarmac.co.uk/nosterfield/) to attend the celebration of the
pagan festival of Beltane . On May 1 , 2005 this event was attended by
around 150 people from across the north of England.


[edit ] Quarrying

Extensive quarrying has destroyed much of the monument's setting to the
north and west of the henges. The site lies within the wider Nosterfield
quarry area being exploited for gravel by Tarmac Northern Ltd. Although
the henges themselves are not threatened, Tarmac now wishes to extend its
quarrying operations to a 45 hectare site less than a mile east of the
henges known as 'Ladybridge Farm'. Preliminary investigations of this area
of land to discern its archaeological significance have suggested that it
may have been a location of ritual Neolithic encampments, possibly used by
those people who built or visited the henges. Opponents of the scheme
claim that if permission was granted for this area to be quarried, much of
the remaining contextual information about the henges would be lost. A
campaign led by local people and concerned archaeologists is attempting to
persuade Tarmac and North Yorkshire County Council to guarantee the
protection of the area. British planning and archaeology guidelines prefer
preservation /in situ/ of archaeological remains. In cases where this is
not possible, such as quarrying, preservation by record is an option,
involving archaeological excavation . Campaigners argue that further
excavation and subsequent quarrying will destroy the ritual landscape
completely.

In 2002 Tarmac Northern Ltd. expressed an intention to apply for
planning permission to quarry Thornborough Moor, thus intending to
quarry right up to the edge of the designated scheduled monument area.
In March 2005, Tarmac stated it would not seek to apply for planning
permission to quarry this site for at least ten years, the period
covered by North Yorkshire County Council's Minerals Plan.

In February 2006 North Yorkshire County Council turned down Tarmac's
application to expand quarrying to the Ladybridge Farm site.

Later in 2006 Tarmac submitted a revised planning application to North
Yorkshire County Council.

The revised application for Ladybridge, which is adjacent to the current
Nosterfield Quarry, reduces the proposed area for sand and gravel
extraction from 45 hectares to 31 hectares and avoids the south west
section of the site to address concerns raised about archaeology. The
application was approved in February 2007.

Late in 2007 campaign group Friends of Thornborough requested a judicial
review of the planning permission due to a number of procedural
irregularities. In response, North Yorkshire County Council ruled the
permission to be "fatally flawed and withdrew the permission previously
granted. It is now planned that the planning application will be
re-determined by North Yorkshire County Council planning committee on 22
April 2008. Planners have indicated that granting of permission is
likely. However, campaign group TimeWatch have raised the issue of new
Neolithic archaeology found within the new quarry area since the last
planning meeting.


[edit
]
External links

* grid reference 
SE2879

* TimeWatch Thornborough Campaign 
* Thornborough Henges and the Ure-Swale Monuments
, Assessing Evidence
of Geospatial Intelligence in the Neolithic.
* Tarmac Northern Ltd. 
* Recent excavations near the monuments

* Heritage Action

* Friends of Thornborough Henges

* Homepage of the Thornborough Project at the University of
Newcastle 
* BBC News: Monument quarry plans thrown out 21/02/2006

* Guardian Article: Burying Treasures

* Beltaine Celebrations at Thornborough Central henge

* The Neolithic Monument Complex of Thornborough, North Yorkshire
Maps
* Thornborough: Neolithic and Bronze-Age monument complex
,
fieldwork by Newcastle University 
* Thornborough Henges: Air Photo Mapping Project
,
by English Heritage  and Archaeological
Services WYAS
* Thornborough Moor and Landscape Conservation Plan

For Thornborough Henges Consultation and Working Group, 2005

Coordinates : 54°12′22″N 1°34′20″W /
54.20599°N 1.57223°W / 54.20599; -1.57223