Aberford Dykes

About

The Aberford Dykes are a series of archaeological monuments located around the valley of the Cock Beck, where it runs just north of the village of Aberford on the border between North and West Yorkshire, England. The complex consists of three individual earthworks: Becca Banks/the Ridge, the South Dyke, and Woodhouse Moor Rein.

History: The date and function of the Aberford Dykes are not known for sure. It seems likely that the monuments were built at different times, and possibly for different purposes. Becca Banks/the Ridge has a strongly defensive nature, and may have been built to control a ford over the Cock Beck. Becca Banks/the Ridge runs across the Roman road between Castleford and Tadcaster. However the sequential relationship between the earthwork and the Roman road is not known. Some suggest the monument was built to defend against a Roman invasion and the road was later built right through it. Earlier writers thought the monument was built to protect the road, possibly in the 'Dark Ages' by the Kingdom of Elmet. Where subjected to archaeological excavation, the monuments have been found to date from the late Iron Age (104 BCE to 12 CE in the case of the South Dyke...