Registry of Deeds Newstead Road , WF1 2DE 01924 306797 [email protected]

MEG DYKE, A tourist’s guide to interesting archaeological sites in West

[Meg Dyke seen from the air. The upstanding embankments can clearly be seen forming an L shape in the centre of the image. Photograph courtesy of English Heritage.]

The earthworks Meg Dyke is a prehistoric settlement enclosed by a double bank with an intervening ditch. Although the site has been damaged in places by 19th century quarrying and by the construction of Road, Meg Dyke still remains a substantial earthwork.

In places the inner bank is 6.0m wide and the outer one is about 4.0m wide. Both still stand to a height of 1.0m. The ditch between the two embankments is up to 4.0m wide and 1.0m deep. A substantial part of the central area of the enclosure has been damaged by quarrying and it is therefore impossible to determine if there were any internal features

Dating evidence There is no firm dating evidence for this earthwork. An excavation across the bank and ditch in 1976 only produced undiagnostic fragments of iron. It has however been tentatively assigned to the Iron Age on typological grounds.

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This guide was written by Dave Weldrake (© WYAAS 2010)

More information on Iron Age Research Agenda the WYAAS website

External links Pastscape features detailed information on the site from English Heritage.

Old photographs and an early description of the site can be found in Early Man in the District of

Location Meg Dyke is cut by Scammonden Road at approximately SE 0498 1745. To view map Click Here.

NB: There is more information about Meg Dyke and other historic sites in held within the West Yorkshire Historic Environment Record (HER), Contact us via 01924 306797 or [email protected]. Alternatively search our records online via the Heritage Gateway website - www.heritagegateway.org.uk

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