| Description | This site is described on the O.S. card as a circular ditched enclosure, situated 1 mile south of the Round Ring (PRN 2221). The site lies circa 1.2 kms. north of Sentry Edge and it appears on the 1st edition 6inch O.S. map. Little of it remained in 1964, apart from a superficial depression with traces of a spread outer bank. No finds have ever been reported from this site.
The site is compared in the West Yorkshire Survey (cited below) with a presumed Iron Age enclosure north of Stainburn, known as Briscoe Rigg. The earthwork at Moor End was surveyed by the O.S. on 11.04.1961, when they recorded that the NW side had been destroyed by quarrying. The site was visited in Nov.'89 during general reconnaissance in the area; as it lies on private land, it was not possible to walk across it; however, from the approach track it could be seen that the earthwork is cut by a stone field wall on the western side and is very degraded, but still visible as a slight bank with ephemeral traces of a ditch; there are other earthworks, probably quarrying, in the same field as the enclosure.
The field on the west side of the site is full of dumped farm machinery, and there are earthworks here too, probably due to quarrying. The site is under grass. Site visit by Naomi Faulkner (M/c Univ. student), 12 October 1996, with a view to geophysical survey and recording, was apparently refused by the owner/tenant, Mr.E.Sykes of Overgreen Royd Farm. The earthwork was observed to still survive at that date.
The site, situated 160m west of Overgreen Royd Farm, Mixenden, became a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1998. The scheduling details describe the site as an 'Enclosed Bronze Age Urnfield with an enclosing bank'. Generally a Bronze Age urnfield is a burial ground in which cremations, usually placed in cinerary urns, were placed within a circular enclosure up to 30m diameter. The enclosure could be formed either by a ditch, a bank, or a bank within a stone circle with an entranceway allowing for entry. A central mound or standing stone is sometimes found with this type of site. This form of enclosure is mainly found in the north of England, mainly in Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland.
The site became a scheduled monument in 1998. English Heritage's scheduling description is as follows:
The monument includes a Bronze Age urnfield and its enclosing bank. It is situated 160m west of Overgreen Royd Farm, Mixenden. The field containing the urnfield has been ploughed in the past, but the bank still survives to a height of 0.2m. The bank is subcircular and measures about 5m wide and 50m in diameter; it previously extended into a field to the north west but has been destroyed in this area by a small stone quarry.
Although the surface of the enclosed Bronze Age urnfield 160m west of Overgreen Royd Farm has been disturbed by ploughing, it retains evidence of its form and location, and will retain evidence of the burials originally placed within it. It is one of several such sites in the Calderdale area.
(Text edited from English Heritage's National Heritage List of England) |