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HER:  Yorkshire Dales National Park MYD4237; MYD4238 (None)
NMR:  SD 99 NE 4 (47281)
SM:  None
NGR:  SD 9510 9890
X:  395100  Y:  498900  (OSGB36)
Within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a possible promontory fort to the N of Gunnerside above the Gunnerside Beck at Potting, now mostly quarried away. First reported in the 1970's. Some features can be explained as landslip and quarrying. An Ordnance Survey investigation concluded that probable man-made features survive in the S and SE comprising a turf bank 2.5-3m wide, with a triple bank and ditch across the approach and a possible outer bank 6m wide. Internally there is an embanked terrace 33m by 17m aligned E-W, with small hut platforms. The site is undated. No further information is available
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed
X:  -231206  Y:  7243520  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -2.076956948440979  Latitude:  54.38557491780555  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  England
Current County or Unitary Authority:  North Yorkshire
Historic County:  Yorkshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Melbecks
Only fragments of bank and ditch survive
| Extant   | ✓ |
| Cropmark   | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✓ |
Satellite imagery suggests heather and rough grassland. Remains of quarrying waste.
| Woodland   | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✗ |
| Arable   | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✓ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✓ |
An inland promontory fort lying at approximately 348m OD to the E of Gunnerside Beck. The ground slopes away steeply to the S and SW.
| Contour Fort   | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort   | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort   | ✓ |
| Hillslope Fort   | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort   | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort   | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort   | ✗ |
| Hilltop   | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory   | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory   | ✓ |
| Valley Bottom   | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Ridge   | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   | ✗ |
| Hillslope   | ✗ |
| Lowland   | ✗ |
| Spur   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  Inland promontory to the E of Gunnerside Beck
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✗ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✓ |
| Southwest   | ✓ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✗ |
Altitude:  348.0m
N/A
The site is undated
Reliability:  D - None
| Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
| Post AD800   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort:   | None |
| Post Hillfort:   | None |
The site was reported by a member of the public in the 1970's. An undated Ordnance Survey investigation later confirmed that the remains could be those of man-made banks and ditches.
| Other (None):   | Oral correspondence |
Embanked terrace 33m by 17m aligned E-W, with small hut platforms
Gunnerside Beck to the S, with springs at the watersheds
| None   | ✓ |
| Spring   | ✗ |
| Stream   | ✗ |
| Pool   | ✗ |
| Flush   | ✗ |
| Well   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features   | ✗ |
| Round Stone Structures   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures   | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms   | ✓ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics   | ✓ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds   | ✓ |
| Pottery   | ✗ |
| Metal   | ✗ |
| Metalworking   | ✗ |
| Human Bones   | ✗ |
| Animal Bones   | ✗ |
| Lithics   | ✗ |
| Environmental   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| APs Not Checked   | ✓ |
| None   | ✗ |
| Roundhouses   | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
| Pits   | ✗ |
| Postholes   | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
No entrances are recorded
| None:   | The site has been considerably damaged by quarrying |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
Probable man-made features survive in the S and SE comprising a turf bank 2.5-3m wide, with a triple bank and ditch across the approach and a possible outer bank 6m wide.
| Area 1:   | Noneha. |
| Total:   | Noneha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
None
| ✗   | Badly damaged |
| ✗   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | None |
| SE Quadrant:   | 3 |
| SW Quadrant:   | None |
| NW Quadrant:   | None |
| Total:   | 3 |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✓ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
| Univallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Bivallate   | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
| Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
| None   | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
| Stone Wall   | ✗ |
| Rubble   | ✗ |
| Wall-walk   | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber   | ✗ |
| Vitrification   | ✗ |
| Other Burning   | ✗ |
| Palisade   | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
| Berm   | ✗ |
| Unfinished   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
None
| None   | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank   | ✗ |
| Stone Wall   | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex   | ✗ |
| Timber-framed   | ✗ |
| Timber-laced   | ✗ |
| Vitrification   | ✗ |
| Other Burning   | ✗ |
| Palisade   | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
| Berm   | ✗ |
| Unfinished   | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
| Other   | ✗ |
| ✗   | None |
| ✓   | None |
Number of Ditches:  1
| ✗   | None |
No related records
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
Document Version 1.1