The Thornborough Henges is an unusual ancient monument complex that includes the three aligned henge

Henge

There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside...

s that give the site its name. The complex is located near the village of Thornborough

Thornborough, North Yorkshire

Thornborough is a village in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about south of Bedale and west of the A1 road. Thornborough is in the West Tanfield parish. The Thornborough Henges ancient monuments are situated south and west of the village....

, close to the town of Masham

Masham

Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in Wensleydale on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had...

 in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The complex includes many large ancient structures including a cursus

Cursus

thumb|right|250px|[[Stonehenge Cursus]], Wiltshirethumb|right|250px|[[Dorset Cursus]] terminal on Thickthorn Down, DorsetCursus was a name given by early British archaeologists such as William Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early Roman...

, henges, burial grounds and settlements. They are thought to have been part of a Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 and Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 'ritual landscape' comparable with Salisbury Plain

Salisbury Plain

Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...

 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

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

 as the most important ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands.

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.

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

Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...

. 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

Orion's Belt

The term Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion may refer to:* Orion's Belt, an asterism consisting of three bright stars in a row in the constellation Orion* Orion's Belt, a 1985 film* Orion's Belt, a browser game...

. 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.

Beltane

All three of the Thornborough henges and the narrow strip of land connecting them are Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

s. 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

Beltane

Beltane or Beltaine is the anglicised spelling of Old Irish  Beltaine or Beltine , the Gaelic name for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.Bealtaine was historically a Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.Bealtaine...

. On May 1, 2005 this event was attended by around 150 people from across the north of England.

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

PPG 16

Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning commonly abbreviated as PPG 16, was a document produced by the British Government to advise local planning authorities on the treatment of archaeology within the planning process...

 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.

External links

• English Heritage: Thornborough Henges National Mapping Project
• 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 February 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
  English Heritage
  English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
  
  and Archaeological Services WYAS
• Thornborough Moor and Landscape Conservation Plan For Thornborough Henges Consultation and Working Group, 2005