 Part of Gardom's Edge enclosure walls, running from middle left to lower right of picture |
This
site was first discovered in the 1940's and subsequent investigations
and excavation by the University of Sheffield in the late 1990's have
shed some light on its possible origins and purpose. Measuring over 600 metres in length, varying in width between 5 and 10 metres and reaching a maximum height of about a metre and a half, this massive line of boulder and rock delimits a large area of land to the east of Gardom's Edge itself. It is thought to have formed a seasonal meeting point or ritual area for the local inhabitants during the Neolithic and, due to the concentration of later Bronze Age features in the vicinity (see cairn below), for some time later. A theory that the site could have been used as a trading centre is supported by finds of flint and stone tools while the boulder strewn nature of much of the interior suggests that it was never a settlement site. Investigations revealed seven entrances within the walls and evidence that large quantities of the stone had later been removed to build drystone walls. Despite the stone robbing and the fact that much of the walls lie within a birch wood covered in bracken, the site is still impressive in its sheer size but it remains puzzling as to why the Neolithic population felt the need to use so much stone to create this monument and one can only guess at the number of man-hours, or how many years were involved in its construction. Beyond the southern end of the birch wood the enclosure walls have been much removed but some trace remains in a low line of boulders that extend across the fields. The later Bronze Age carved rock lies just to the east of the walls. Other Gardom's Edge sites: Carved Rock, Pit Alignment, Ring Cairn Round House, Standing Stone, Three Men of Gardom's |
 Part of the walls within the birch wood. |
 Cairn with upright stone close to the enclosure walls |
