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It is clear from this assessment that the whole study area covers a landscape of great archaeological significance. It contains within its boundaries several Scheduled Ancient Monuments of recognised international importance, particularly the henges, which include five of only six known Class IIA henges in Europe.
The prehistoric landscape of the Vale of Mowbray represents an area of great ritual significance as attested by the Thornborough cursus and possible associated monuments such as the ovate enclosure excavated by Harding and interpreted as a mortuary enclosure. Although a large number of cursus monuments have been recognised in Britain, particularly since the advent of aerial photography, very little is yet known about their date and function. In the case of the Thornborough cursus, its geographical setting, its place in the sequence of development of the ritual landscape and its spatial relationship to the henges and other features is of great importance to its interpretation.
The ritual importance of this area was subsequently confirmed by the construction of the henges. Archaeological research and fieldwork is beginning to place the Thornborough henges within their context through the recognition of areas of ritual significance in their immediate vicinity and with evidence for domestic sites further away such as to the east of Chapel Hill and to the north on Nosterfield . Hutton Moor has not been studied in such depth but it seems to reflect a similar level of significance and pattern of development. It is also possible that excavation and survey along the line of the A1 in the vicinity of the Hutton Moor and Cana Barn henges will add to our knowledge and aid in our understanding of the context of this monument complex.
Dispersed within this Neolithic landscape are also a number of pit alignments of which some are only attested by aerial photography whereas others have recently been excavated. These excavations suggest that some, particularly the double 'avenues’, hold a ritual significance connected with the monuments, whereas others probably represent land boundaries belonging to this or the Bronze Age period.
The ritual significance of the landscape is further reflected in the Bronze Age with the siting of barrow cemeteries around the henge monuments and a flat cremation cemetery to the north of Nosterfield village. Beaker and Early Bronze Age finds are also represented in the assemblages from fieldwalking and excavation suggesting that some occupation continued.
The recognisable concentrations of sites on the map may not accurately reflect the original density and distribution patterns of the monuments, since their survival depends on a number of factors. For example, some sites do not show from the air on certain types of geology and even those that do may not be seen more than once in a number of years. Excavation has also proved that many types of feature are clearly not recognisable through aerial reconnaissance or field survey. An important factor in the survival of these sites is whether the land has been ploughed over time and it is possible that the concentrations of barrows and ring ditches around Hutton Moor survive because this was marginal moor land in the Middle Ages and not subjected to intense or prolonged ploughing.
Although this landscape is dominated by the early prehistoric sites, the comparative sparsity of sites from the Iron Age is also of archaeological interest and regional significance. Given that this should have been a very attractive area for agriculture at a time when lowland sites were greatly in demand, the complete lack of evidence from research and fieldwork in the detailed assessment area suggests that this may still have been respected as a ritual area in the Iron Age. Recent results from excavations along the A1 between Boroughbridge and Dishforth, also indicate an absence of settlement in this period in the vicinity of the Cana Barn and Hutton Moor henges in the southeastern part of the landscape study area. Further survey or excavation on some of the sites recognised by aerial photography may help to confirm or deny this hypothesis.
From the Roman to the Post-Medieval period the area appears to have been used for agricultural purposes, serving dispersed settlements from the villa estates of the Roman period to manorial estates, villages and hamlets in the Early Medieval and Medieval periods. By the time of the Enclosure Act at the end of the 18th century, land including the central Thornborough henge had been used for strip-field farming. Several small areas had been exploited for peat or quarried for gravel, as at How Hill; marl, as at Chapel Hill; limestone as at Nosterfield and sandstone as on Hutton Moor. There were also corn mills sited along the River Ure.
Continued agricultural activity as well as the exploitation of minerals has resulted in the poor preservation of many sites in this area. At least three barrows and the western end of the Thornborough cursus have been destroyed by quarrying, as have pit groups, pit alignments, cemeteries and field systems, although in the majority of cases some archaeological record was made. Other sites have gradually been eroded by the plough and some sites such as barrows which appeared as tumuli on the early maps, can now barely be seen as cropmarks. The northern Thornborough henge, although well-preserved as an earthwork, was planted with trees in the 19th century and when these occasionally fall, severe damage is caused to the monument.
The area covered by this assessment has been subjected to quarrying either for gravel, limestone, sandstone or marl since at least the Post-Medieval period. A plot of all quarried areas shown on maps from the late 18th century to the present day shows that almost 2km2 have already been worked on the gravel terrace of the 12.25km2 detailed assessment area, in addition to other quarries in the broader area (see Figure 3).
It is not clear why this particular area which expands to include the Devil’s Arrows standing stones at Boroughbridge and stretches north to the Scorton cursus, held such great significance to prehistoric peoples. However, one of the reasons must surely be the geographical setting of the monuments. The Thornborough monument complex lies on a broad level low-lying plateau of glacial sands and gravels, sloping gently to the river to the south, becoming more undulating to the east, but rising up fairly steeply to the west. Archaeological evidence suggests that these monuments were constructed in clearings in the woodland which would have covered the landscape in the Neolithic period. Following his excavation of the central henge, Thomas (1955) suggested that the banks were coated in white gypsum which would have allowed the monument to be seen clearly from a great distance and results from Harding’s fieldwalking campaign suggest that there was some significance in the siting of areas of domestic activity in areas where the monuments would have been less visible.
For this reason, it is particularly important to consider the areas from which the monuments would have been most visible such as the limestone ridge to the west or possibly from outcrops of higher ground, such as Langwith and Camp Hill Plantation, since these areas also form part of the ritual landscape.
On Hutton Moor the majority of the monuments are sited on an uneven plateau of land above the 50m contour and many of the barrows lie on individual high spots such as at Blois Hill and to the east of Cana Barn. Here, results from excavations along the A1 suggest that the Hutton Moor and Marton-le-Moor areas may have been exploited for agriculture in the Neolithic which indicates that the lower lying surrounding landscape had probably been cleared of woodland leaving a clearer view of the monuments. Hypotheses on the visibility of the monuments from various areas of the surrounding landscape may be confirmed or denied by further environmental analysis in the future.
Other factors which may have influenced the development of the landscape are the areas of marshy or boggy ground such as where the river changed its course in the Bell Flasks area or large parts of the moorlands of Hutton Conyers and Marton-le-Moor. Place names and early maps suggest that these areas had been badly drained for some time, otherwise the rich soils would not have been left as marginal common or moor land until the early 19th century.
In some of these poorly drained areas, peat has formed, particularly to the north of Nosterfield and to the north of Wath. There is evidence from excavations at Nosterfield that the field known as 'the Flasks’ was the site of a former lake. This lake was 'terrestrialised’ in the early Holocene as attested by the earliest formation of peat (Tipping 2000) but scatters of worked flint found within the peat suggest that it formed over a long period of time, into the Neolithic period although there is no evidence for its continued formation after the Iron Age (Mike Griffiths pers. comm.). Excavations of the moat around Upsland Farm show that peat was forming here during the Medieval period (NAA 1993) and this surely should have been the case at Nosterfield. A document of 1257 cited by M’Call (1908) records arbitration between Ralph Marmyun and Lady Avice Marmyun over rights to areas of peat and there is also the implication that just as agricultural and industrial advances increased the need for minerals, such as limestone, gravel and marl in the Post-Medieval period, the need for fuel also increased. It is likely, therefore, that peat was cut for this purpose.
A substantial part of the Bell Flasks area has already been, or is due to be quarried for gravel and some of the peat deposits in the north of the area at the Flasks on Nosterfield have also been destroyed. Although the water table eventually returns to its original level following the reinstatement of the landscape after quarrying, the peat can be adversely affected during the life of the quarry, when areas are pumped out or left to dry out without the protection of the topsoil, often for long periods.
The landscape study has proved that the area of the proposed mineral extraction is sited within an archaeological landscape of great significance and cannot be viewed in isolation. The monuments and sites investigated for research purposes or in response to development in the detailed assessment area clearly belong to a much broader landscape which has developed since the Early Neolithic period with shifting foci of ritual significance in a sequence which has yet to be clearly understood.
The broad landscape has changed very little since prehistoric times as the archaeological and historical record suggests that this has been an area of small dispersed settlements set within agricultural land from the Roman period onwards. Until the 20th century, mineral extraction had a negligible impact on this landscape with small quarries dispersed over the different geological areas. However, the need for construction materials for development over the last hundred years has led to the exploitation of extensive quarries which have altered the landscape of the whole area. This is particularly true for the gravel terrace of the River Ure in the area of West Tanfield, Bell Flasks, Thornborough and Nosterfield, where quarries have previously cut away parts of the standing monuments and destroyed many others.
The reinstatement of many of these quarries has resulted in the creation of artificial lakes and landscapes which are now nature reserves promoting the conservation and study of flora and fauna as well as providing a recreational resource for the public. It is possible that these lakes reflect more closely the Neolithic landscape as Muir (1997, 30) suggests that many valley floors would have been 'dappled by lakes and marshes’ in this period.
Within this relatively small area, more than seventy known or potential sites have been highlighted by the assessment and ascribed to categories from A - E according to their archaeological significance. In total there are 20 sites of category A, which include Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments or sites closely related to these; 6 sites of category B, which are sites of high significance but which have not been legally protected and include the peat deposits on the Flasks; 21 sites of category C, including the mills along the River Ure and possibly on Ings Goit which provide evidence for industrial activity, and the possible site of a Medieval chapel giving Chapel Hill its name; 21 of category D including sites of uncertain character or date as well as all the Post-Medieval field boundaries; and 15 of category E which are either casual find spots or sites that have already been excavated or destroyed.
Of the known sites immediately under threat from the present proposals for gravel extraction, the peat deposits to the east of Ladybridge Farm (DBA 330) are deemed to be of high significance, Category B, since they may be of exceptional palaeo-environmental interest. The linear cropmarks (DBA 43) and a possible geological feature (DBA 61), are classed as category D, and in the southwestern corner of the proposed site, there was a relatively high incidence of prehistoric finds from fieldwalking which could indicate a settlement site (DBA 70) and as such has been allocated to category C.
Earlier fieldwork on Nosterfield has proved that only the most substantial of archaeological features show as cropmarks, such as the 4m wide ditches of the enclosure excavated at the western end of the quarry. Of the six pit alignments excavated only three showed as cropmarks, two of these were only visible in fields outside the excavation area and the other showed only as a faint linear cropmark. All other features, including pit groups, which provide valuable evidence for occupation, a barrow, a cremation cemetery and a substantial Roman kiln/dryer were unknown prior to topsoil stripping.
Pending post-excavation analysis, these previous excavations seem to suggest a greater concentration of settlement areas on the eastern part of the site. The distribution of cropmarks suggests a greater concentration of potential sites towards the east and around Upsland Farm, and Harding’s fieldwork suggests that occupation sites are likely to be found further away from the ritual monuments. Given that the evidence suggests that only a small percentage of sites and features are visible through aerial reconnaissance, it is likely that the area of proposed extraction contains a number of currently unknown structures, features and deposits of archaeological importance.
It is considered that excavation of the area of the proposed quarry extension will have a fairly low impact on the broad landscape, even with the reinstatement of the area as artificial lakes, since a large part of the area has already been redeveloped in this way. In addition, the proposed development should not have a detrimental effect on the view of the Thornborough plain from the higher ground of Well, Langwith and Camp Hill Plantation to the north, since it is approximately a kilometre away from the henge monuments and does not involve the construction of extensive buildings.
The immediate archaeological impact, however, may be significantly greater. It has already been stated that the area of the existing Nosterfield includes a significant number of archaeological features which have the potential to enhance our understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns in the vicinity of the Thornborough henges and to add to the emerging picture of the organisation of the landscape in later periods. A high proportion of the features and structures excavated so far were not recognised prior to topsoil stripping and it is probable that the area of the proposed development contains at least a comparable density of sites. Several linear and curvilinear features have been recognised from the air and a relatively high concentration of fieldwalking finds have been recovered from the small field in the southwestern corner, suggestive of prehistoric occupation. It has also been demonstrated that there is a greater density of occupation sites on the eastern part of the site.
The deposits of peat from the Flasks, a large part of which are already subject to planning permission for gravel extraction, are considered to be of exceptional palaeo-environmental interest. Not only is the destruction of a large proportion of it already permitted, but there will be an impact on the preservation of the rest of the deposit left in situ due to the temporary change in the water table during extraction. According to the geological map, there is another small deposit of peat on the eastern side of the proposed area. This deposit clearly causes bad drainage and it has been left under pasture in a small separate field which holds surface water. There is a drainage ditch down the eastern side and immediately to the south of this field is a pond. Again, this peat is of potential archaeological interest.
It is recommended that a suitable evaluation programme be implemented prior to determination of a planning application.