Towards an Archaeology of Routeways: A case study from the North York Moors National Park

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The North York Moors - A Case Study
• 3. Results of the Mapping
• 4. Routeways in the Landscape
  • 4.1 Typology
    • 4.1.1 ”Single” erosional routeways
    • 4.1.2 Complex Erosional Routeways
    • 4.1.3 Constructed Routeways
    • 4.1.4 Junctions
  • 4.2 Directionality and Intensity
  • 4.3 Chronology
• 5. Conclusion
• Acknowledgements

Figure 1: An example of the data pack distributed to volunteers for an individual kilometre grid square. From left to right: DTM NE, DTM NW, DTM S, OS with contour, Satellite Map and HER map (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 2: LiDAR image of the entire study area. Trods are mapped in red, hollow ways are mapped in yellow, complexes are mapped in blue. (Image credit: Sirius Minerals © 2018)

Figure 3: One part of Pannierman Pots [184] as it descends into a rill. This section remains in use as a public bridleway (Photo © Trevor Littlewood; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 4: The central feature [143] runs SW-NE through both moorland and agricultural landscape. The modern field that it runs through is not present on the first edition OS map in 1849 but is depicted in later editions, with the public footpath rerouted to the south. Since being enclosed the field has been used as arable, forestry plantation, and pasture, processes which have degraded the way. (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 5: Path of the Quakers Causeway [392] through a complex palimpsest of other routeway features, which align, junction, and branch from the trod, covering a wide area of the landscape. The largest single feature is approximately 26 hectares in area [349]. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 6: A single lane hollow way, approximately 4 metres in width, crossing Newton Mulgrave Moor [205]. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 7: A double wide hollow way, approximately 8 metres at its widest point, north of the A171 at Liverton Moor [292] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 8: Hollow way known as 'Thief Lane' (out of study area) south of Roulston Scar hillfort. The feature is multiple metres in depth and is a significant barrier to access perpendicular to it. It is also heavily overgrown. (Photo © David Stapley; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 9: Thief Lane viewed from the side - a significant barrier to cross. (Photo © David Stapley; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 10: Within 'Thief Lane'. In its current state it is significantly overgrown, and is crossed by a wooden bridge which carries the modern footpath from which Figure 8 is taken. (Photo © David Stapley; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 11: Sycamore/Seggimire Lane contains both a trod and islanded hollow way. Here two hollow way paths diverge, creating an island which contains the trod, which appears to be acting as an obstacle, potentially during wet weather when it becomes slippery, inducing hollow way erosion on either side. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 12: A faintly incised path (c.20cm depth) running parallel to 'Thief Lane'. A second path can be faintly seen on the right of the image. These two paths are separated by an 'island' with trees (Photo © David Stapley; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 13: Braided hollow way complex to the south of A171 near the village of Aislaby [125] (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 14: Two closed fan arrangements. The left [152, 153] crosses a boggy valley with a series of parallel deeply incised hollow ways. The right [176] shows two fans crossing an incline in the vicinity of a round barrow. These two fans interlock on this slope, collecting apparently different streams of traffic. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 15: A closed fan hollow way [45] arrangement comprising a series of deeply incised highly parallelised ways, one of several parallel features on Fylingdales Low Moor. The feature expands as it approaches the rill, presumably to cope with greater erosion on the slopes making routes there impassable. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 16: Seggimire Lane Trod [116]. The trod sits within a hollow way complex [117]. Embanking of the trod is visible adjacent to a hollow way ditch, suggesting a series of phases to the relationship. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 17: The 'Monk's Trod' in Eskdale (Outside of survey area). Some of the stones are dished from persistent wear, and in the foreground at least one top stone is missing, revealing a secondary layer of smaller stones beneath. The lengths of stones are more irregular than their widths. It is terraced into the slope which it runs perpendicular to. Footpath erosion adjacent to the trod is undercutting and destabilising sections of it, and it is also at risk from water erosion and mass movement on the slope. (Photo © Miles Johnson; CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Figure 18: A four-way fork junction [371, 61, 63] on Fylingdales Low Moor. In this instance 'A' can be identified with the route to Whitby and Hawkser, whereas 'B' eventually runs to Robin Hoods Bay. 'C' and 'D' interweave with each other briefly south-west of this location, before sharply diverging, with unclear ultimate destinations. (Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 19: A disparity in the number of routeways opposing each other on a rill [45, 44] indicates potential unidirectional movement to the northeast.(Image credit: © Sirius Minerals 2018)

Figure 20: Liverton Moor with bank feature (HER 7076) marked (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 21: Liverton Moor Phase 1 [258, 259, 280] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 22: Liverton Moor Phase 2 [291, 293, 282] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 23: Liverton Moor Phase 3 [Phase 3: 270, 269, 273, 279 Phase 3 Putative: 274, 275, 254, 252, 250] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 24: Liverton Moor Phase 4 [Phase 4: 278, 281, 279 Phase 4 Putative: 292, 300] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)

Figure 25: Liverton Moor Phase 5 [278] (Image credit: Environment Agency © Crown Copyright and database rights 2024)