NORTHERN RITUAL LANDSCAPES 2

The Swale-Ure Confluence, Part 2

Mike Haigh continues his study of the sacred sites in the Boroughbridge area of North Yorkshire (from Northern Earth 70).

Part Two: History and Discussion

Based on what is known and was summarised in the first part of this article (NE 68), a speculative history of the complex of sites near the Rivers Swale and Ure can be constructed.

The first sites in the area were probably the cursuses. The Scorton cursus was focussed on the River Swale, while that at Thornborough was connected with the Ure. These were probably constructed during the Middle Neolithic and used for several centuries.

Later, the single henge at Nunwick was built, followed by the two major henge alignments at Thornborough and Hutton Moor/Cana. These important monuments were focussed on the River Ure, but were built north of the river, perhaps because it was felt necessary to also honour the less powerful but still potent sacred spirit of the Swale. The fact that these monuments are so similar in plan suggests that they were all built at roughly the same time. Evidence implies an Early bronze Age date for this considerable activity.

Once the monuments were complete, they became the focus for special burials in barrows. To the south, the Ure was being acknowledged by another alignment, this time of standing stones - the Devil's Arrows. It has been suggested this stone row dates from the Late Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age.

Many of the monuments constructed around the confluence of the two rivers were unusual in form. They represent strange variations on known themes. Thus we have cursuses with banks on the 'wrong' side of ditches, or one bank instead of two. All the henges except Nunwick have two ditches instead of the usual one and all have berms where the bank and ditch would be expected to form one continuous feature. This may indicate a local creativity and the development of a strong local identity.

As well as being unusual in form, the henges in this area may have been unusual in function. It is difficult to be certain, as they have not been properly excavated, but the limited work that has been done has found no evidence for the structured deposition found at other henges. At Woodhenge in Wiltshire, for instance, large quantities of broken pots, animal bones and stone implements were found in the ditch around the entrance to the monument. It has been said that these were offerings to the deities, cast into the ditch as people entered¹.

Another suggestion is that since the henges were surrounded by barrows of the 'Food Vessel' users, then perhaps they built them. There are two nearby centres of this culture; the Yorkshire Wolds, where the inhabitants mostly practised inhumation, and the North York Moors, where a mixture of cremation and inhumation occurred. The mixture of funerary rites found by Victorian diggers, plus certain similarities of style noted by modern archaeologists, indicate that the Swale-Ure people had links with the North York Moors group. This makes sense also in that as I have reported earlier², there are a number of unusual aligned sites on the moors, such as SEPAs (segmented embanked pit alignments) and the tailed cairn.

The central theme of the monuments of the 'Boroughbridge triangle' seems to be one of alignment. Some of the sites are themselves linear, such as the cursuses or the rows of pits, while others are constructed in rows, like the henges and the monoliths of the Devil's Arrows. On a larger scale, Devereux and Thomson record two major landscape alignments in the area³. Both the Thornborough and Cana henges line up on the Arrows, taking in a few tumuli on the way. These alignments may be roughly contemporary with the famous linear barrow cemeteries at Winterbourne crossroads near Stonehenge⁴. The evidence for a link between the rivers and the local monuments is strong. Henges, cursuses and stone rows often have links with river valleys in other parts of the country⁵.

All this information generates a number of mysteries which we may never be able to answer. Why, after centuries of worship at cursuses, did the people suddenly build six or seven unusual henges and a stone row? Were they inspired by new religious ideas? Could it be that they felt themselves threatened by changes happening around them, so began a series of major public works to emphasise their links with the land? Alternatively, they may have wanted to open themselves up to outsiders and attract pilgrims to an exciting ritual landscape; it is even possible that it was created as a rival to the Great Wolds Valley religious complex⁶.

This area is a focus for a number of ancient trade routes. To the east lie the natural flint beds on the Yorkshire coast, while to the west there are trans-Pennine routes to the Lake District and ultimately Ireland. To the south there are routes via the Jurassic Way to the rich Wessex Culture centred on Wiltshire⁷.

The links with the south seem especially strong. We have already seen how the Devil's Arrows were built using similar techniques to Stonehenge and how the henge banks were covered with gypsum so that they looked like they were made of chalk. It is also worth noting that the Big Rings henge at Dorchester in Oxfordshire has two ditches like those in the northern group. Big Rings lies beside the Thames on the major trade route between Boroughbridge and Wessex. Perhaps the northern people were inspired by the things they saw while on trips 'down south'. We may never know the exact relationship between the two cultures.

Today, the Swale and Ure still meander through fertile and productive farmland, and met among green fields. We admire the rivers for their picturesque beauty, but in earlier days they were seen as the source of powerful forces to be honoured and worshipped⁸.

[Since writing this, new information has emerged from archaeological excavations prompted by the widening of the A1. Just to the west of Dishforth Airfield, only about a kilometre south-east of the Cana Henge, a length of aligned, paired pits were found. Only part of the alignment was discovered but this was enough to indicate that there was a slight curve in the direction of the pits and that the width of the feature varied between 2.7 and 1.8 metres. Similar alignments were found around 200 metres to the west of the Devil's Arrows. At both sites the pits were dug to hold wooden posts. The resemblance between these features and the crop-marks observed at Thornborough are close enough to refute my suggestion in the last issue that the Thornborough Pit Alignments may have been SEPA's. I also think that the occurrence of Post Alignments near Thornborough, Cana and Devil's Arrows refutes Aubrey Burls suggestion that the stone row was not part of the same sacred landscape.⁹]

1. S.J.Pollard, 'Inscribed Space: Formal Deposition at the later Neolithic Monument of Woodhenge, Wilts.' Proc. Prehistoric Soc. 61, 1995. See G. Wainwright, The Henge Monuments, Thames & Hudson 1989, for other examples.
2. Mike Haigh, 'The Tailed Cairn of Gt. Ayton', NE 64. This unusual monument consists of a sub-rectangular enclosure, a chambered cairn and a 100 m-long low mound. All are connected and share the same alignment. For SEPAs, see Note 5 to Part One, NE 68, also summary in NE 60 of C.A.Lofthouse, 'Segmented Embanked Pit-Alignments in the N. York Moors', Proc. Prehistoric Soc., 59, 1993.
3. P. Devereux & I. Thomson, The Ley Hunter's Companion, Thames & Hudson 1979. It has been suggested that the alignment of the Devil's Arrows points to a fording place on the Ure; Aubrey Burl (see Note 8, Pt. One, NE 68) has ascertained that this is not so.
4. John Michell, The New View Over Atlantis, T & H 1983. Illus. p.118.
5. R.J.C. Atkinson, 'Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon'. Undated. Also Burl, Note 8, Pt. 1, & Wainwright, Note 1 above.
6. Mike Haigh, 'The Gypsey Race & the Great Wolds Valley Sacred Landscape', NE 58. This article was 'Northern Ritual Landscapes No.1', though I didn't realise it at the time! C.S.Hay has pointed out that the Rudston monolith in the Great Wolds Valley and the Devil's Arrows are on the same latitude, 54o N. This could imply a degree of co-operation between the people who laid out both landscapes. C.S.Hay, 'Shifting Poles', NE 59, 1994.
7. Wessex Culture - a rich, powerful culture centred on the chalk downs around Stonehenge and Avebury. It is noted for the richness of its artefacts and the length of its trade routes.
8. Not everything is as idyllic as I've painted it here. Gravel extraction has ruined the Scorton and Thornborough cursuses and the upgrading of the A1 is causing much destruction along its length. Many barrows have disappeared due to ploughing, which is also reducing the height of the henge banks [more reasons why e.m. people should proactively campaign on behalf of our ancient sites - JB].
9. N Tavener, Evidence of Neolithic Activity near Marton-le-Moor, North Yorkshire'.. Northern Archaeology. 13/14. 1996.

Notes

It has been suggested that Ure, or Yore to give it its alternative spelling, means 'holy' - see Eilert Ekwell, English River Names, Oxford 1928.

It is also recorded that a river monster, known as a kelpie, lives in the Ure at Middleham and leaves the river each evening to hunt for prey. It is said to claim at least one human victim a year (See Note 2, Part 1)

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