Thornborough Archaeology Group

It is incredible to think that the fertile area of low lying land in the A1 corridor holds a secret. Between the M62 and the A66 in northern England, there were once a staggering number of huge circular ceremonial monuments. Over 5000 years ago, these structures dominated this landscape to the east of the Pennines. They were placed close to rivers, often with their entrances facing these highly important transport sources. The huge areas of chosen land could have been used for farming. Yet, they chose to sacrifice the land to create structures instead…offering to their deities or gods, perhaps.

Only a visit to the northern henge at Thornborough can give you an idea of how massive, imposing and impressive these monuments must have been. Mostly ploughed away in the millennia since, they nevertheless offer an insight into population density at the time. With only the shoulder blades and antlers of deer and other large animals, during a time before metal working or any evidence of the wheel in this area, hundreds and thousands of tons of earth was moved to create huge banks and deep ditches with carefully squared terminals. For what purpose? Why were they made? How long did they take? And most importantly, where did the people live who created them?

When I think about these monuments, my mind immediately focusses on the people who built them. They were most likely to be family groups who worked on this monument for many hundreds of hours and days. We assume that they worked at slack times in the year, perhaps after the harvest when food was plentiful. If we consider that time each year, we can start to understand the processes that these groups went through and start to see the patterns which drove their lives.

The answers to these questions can only be worked out through intensive surveying and excavations, as has happened at monuments in south-west England and that is why the recent coming together of a hive of minds at Thornborough has been so important for starting to widen our understanding of these once incredible structures.

Join one of our Thornborough events this summer to find out more.

Posted on behalf of Emma Watson