Early Medieval Dykes (400 to 850 Ad)

EARLY MEDIEVAL DYKES (400 TO 850 AD) A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2015 Erik Grigg School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Contents Table of figures ................................................................................................ 3 Abstract ........................................................................................................... 6 Declaration ...................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................... 9 1 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY ................................................. 10 1.1 The history of dyke studies ................................................................. 13 1.2 The methodology used to analyse dykes ............................................ 26 2 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DYKES ............................................. 36 2.1 Identification and classification ........................................................... 37 2.2 Tables ................................................................................................. 39 2.3 Probable early-medieval dykes ........................................................... 42 2.4 Possible early-medieval dykes ........................................................... 48 2.5 Probable rebuilt prehistoric or Roman dykes ...................................... 51 2.6 Probable reused prehistoric or Roman dykes ..................................... 52 2.7 Possible rebuilt prehistoric or Roman dykes ....................................... 52 2.8 Possible reused prehistoric or Roman dykes ...................................... 53 2.9 All probable/possible reused/rebuilt dykes .......................................... 54 2.10 Probable prehistoric or Roman dykes ................................................. 54 2.11 Probable later-medieval dykes ........................................................... 56 2.12 Estimates of numbers needed to build the dykes ............................... 56 2.13 The structure and location of early-medieval dykes ............................ 76 2.14 The timeframe of dyke building ........................................................... 92 2.15 Archaeological evidence from the dykes ............................................ 96 3 WIDER EVIDENCE ................................................................................. 109 3.1 Written evidence ............................................................................... 110 3.2 Place-names and names of dykes .................................................... 148 3.3 Scientific and archaeological evidence ............................................. 160 3.4 Comparisons with dykes from other periods and places................... 169 3.5 Summary of the written and archaeological evidence ...................... 175 4 CONCLUSIONS: THE FUNCTIONS OF DYKES .................................... 176 4.1 Multiple purposes and functions of early-medieval dykes ................. 177 4.2 Features confused with dykes .......................................................... 178 4.3 Possible functions of dykes .............................................................. 187 4.4 The nature of early-medieval warfare ............................................... 216 4.5 Dykes and developments in early-medieval society ......................... 235 4.6 The chronological framework of dykes ............................................. 237 4.7 A hypothetical model of early-medieval dykes and their subtypes .... 242 4.8 Summary .......................................................................................... 249 4.9 The future of dyke studies ................................................................ 256 5 APPENDIX .............................................................................................. 258 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................... 420 Word count: Main thesis is 78,191 2 Table of figures Figure 1 Rahtz's 1958 section of Bokerley (‘Bokerly’) Dyke showing clear signs of phasing (Rahtz 1961 72) ........................................................................ 44 Figure 2 A profile of a typical early-medieval dyke (a hypothetical model based on an aggregate of numerous profiles of different earthworks) .................. 77 Figure 3 The relative sizes of early-medieval dykes ......................................... 80 Figure 4 The general distribution of early-medieval dykes in Britain (simplified for clarity) ................................................................................................... 82 Figure 5 Early-medieval dykes mapped against topography ............................ 83 Figure 6 Early-medieval dykes mapped against geology .................................. 85 Figure 7 Bury's Bank and the Crookham Common earthworks, clearly showing they bisect a ridge between two river valleys ............................................. 88 Figure 8 A simplified map of early-medieval dykes plotted on a map of Anglo- Saxon kingdoms ........................................................................................ 90 Figure 9 Loom weight found at Wat's Dyke at Mynydd Isa in 1957 ................... 99 Figure 10 Finds from the burials at Bran Ditch (Lethbridge and Palmer 1927-8) ................................................................................................................. 103 Figure 11 The pot found with the Bran Ditch burials (Palmer, Leaf et al. 1930-1) ................................................................................................................. 103 Figure 12 Pitt River's plan of the Danevirke (kindly provided by Jeremy Coote, Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum and recently published in Morton, 2014) ................................................................................................................. 173 Figure 13 Map of Tor Dike showing how it defines the head of a valley ......... 180 Figure 14 Heronbridge Dyke with the River Dee to the east ........................... 186 Figure 15 Horning Dyke showing how it could have defined a peninsula containing an abbey ................................................................................. 189 Figure 16 Two dykes in western Kent and the old county border of Kent (red dotted line) ............................................................................................... 194 Figure 17 Map showing Aelfrith's Dyke and associated earthworks as well as selected parish boundaries (red intermittent lines) .................................. 198 Figure 18 A map of Cornwall showing the relationship between the longer dykes and the hundred boundaries .................................................................... 201 Figure 19 West and East Wansdyke in relation to the possible borders of Anglo- Saxon kingdoms (note how these two earthworks could only be said to define a small proportion of the West Saxon/Mercian border) ................. 204 Figure 20 Geological map showing how the Cambridgeshire Dykes (marked in brown) block access along a narrow band of chalk ................................. 213 Figure 21 The relationship between the Cambridgeshire Dykes and various roads (the Roman roads are marked with a thick red line and ancient trackways with a thin red line); note how the dykes cut the trackways leading into East Anglia rather than the Roman roads that do not ........... 214 Figure 22 Changing military reactions to raiding in the early-medieval period 241 Figure 23 A hypothetical landscape showing the different types of dykes ...... 243 Figure 24 The dykes of Northern Britain ......................................................... 263 Figure 25 Looking north from Hadrian's Wall with the Bardon Mill Dyke on the left and the King's Wicket on the right ...................................................... 264 Figure 26 The dykes of Yorkshire and Derbyshire .......................................... 271 Figure 27 Aberford Dykes ............................................................................... 271 3 Figure 28 Looking north along Bar Dyke ......................................................... 277 Figure 29 Looking south towards Broomhead Dyke (arrowed) ....................... 278 Figure 30 Dane’s Dyke ................................................................................... 281 Figure 31 Gilling Wood dyke ........................................................................... 282 Figure 32 Looking west along Park Pale ......................................................... 283 Figure 33 The northeast end of the Southern Rig ........................................... 287 Figure 34 The southern end of Scot's Dyke .................................................... 289 Figure 35 Swaledale Dykes ............................................................................ 290 Figure 36 Looking north along the southern earthwork of the western group of the Swaledale Dykes ............................................................................... 292 Figure 37 Hodic looking south......................................................................... 293 Figure 38 Profile of Tor Dike by the author ..................................................... 294 Figure 39 Looking west along Tor Dike ..........................................................

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