This 270m section on Birchcliff Bank forms part of the so-called "Roman Ridge" (or Roman Rig/Rigg), a substantial linear earthwork running north from the Don valley near Sheffield through South Yorkshire toward Mexborough. The monument comprises a bank with one or two flanking ditches and survives in discontinuous lengths totalling roughly 17km; its date is debated but is widely considered late Iron Age or early Roman in origin, despite the conventional name.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The Roman Ridge is generally interpreted as a territorial boundary or defensive earthwork of the Brigantes (or possibly the Corieltauvi frontier with them), built either in response to Roman expansion in the mid-1st century AD or to demarcate tribal/estate land. Its scale makes it one of the most substantial post-prehistoric linear earthworks in northern England.
No closely dated excavation has resolved the chronology of the Birchcliff Bank section specifically; surveys by Boldrini, Atkinson and others have recorded the earthwork's morphology, noting variation between single- and double-banked stretches, but recovered finds are sparse and the absence of secure stratigraphic dating remains the principal problem in interpreting the monument.
This 270m section on Birchcliff Bank forms part of the so-called "Roman Ridge" (or Roman Rig/Rigg), a substantial linear earthwork running north from the Don valley near Sheffield through South Yorkshire toward Mexborough. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a site site from the Roman period in Britain.
Roman Ridge: section 300yds (270m) long on Birchcliff Bank is classified as a Roman site — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Roman Ridge: section 400yds (370m) long S of Abdy Farm (0.8 km), Roman Ridge (Roman road): section 135yds (120m) long, E of Hoober House (1 km), Roman Ridge (Roman road): section S of Hoober House (1.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Roman Ridge: section 300yds (270m) long on Birchcliff Bank