Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Cosmic Alignments or Coincidence?

So there I was, flicking through Brian A. Smith and Alan A. Walker’s book “Rock Art and Ritual,” when a quirky little detail caught my eye. They mentioned something about a prehistoric ring-cairn on Kildale Moor, with a clear line of sight to the ring-cairn on Great Ayton Moor and, on the same line, to Roseberry Topping1Smith, Brain A. & Walker Alan. A. “Rock Art and Ritual”. Page 125. The History Press. 2011..

Which was my excuse this morning to go onto Kildale Moor to check it out.

The 20m-diameter ring-cairn, dating from the Bronze Age, is part of a landscape dotted with cairn-fields, field systems with walls, and the remnants of old settlements and burials. In 1960, the ring-cairn was excavated, when cremated bones were found2HER Nos: 28/2498/55073Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire. Edited by D A Spratt. Page 102. The Council for British Archaeology. 1993. Available online at http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-281-1/dissemination/pdf/cba_rr_087.pdf.

Now, Roseberry Topping — the theory is that this hill was ‘sacred.’ That it had some kind of mystical pull on Bronze Age peoples, causing them to build their ring-cairns and other funerary monuments in places which had a view right to it. A nice idea, but I’m not totally sold on it. For one thing, the moors will have changed. I understand they were more wooded back then.

And speaking of Great Ayton Moor’s ring-cairn, well, it might just be a coincidence that it lines up with this view of Roseberry Topping. But, whether it’s all cosmic alignment or just some wishful thinking, it’s all part of the fun of exploring the moors.

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4 responses to “Cosmic Alignments or Coincidence?”

  1. gavin avatar
    gavin

    Hi Mick, just looking at that line on your map, those three points form a rough alignment to the setting sun on the summer solstice at 2000BC.

    Reply
    1. Fhithich avatar
      Fhithich

      Good old Odin, placing his hill in that exact spot.

      Reply
      1. gavin avatar
        gavin

        The location of the hill is not really that important Mick, the alignment, if it exists, is created by placing the cairns in such a way that the summer solstice sun, when viewed from the cairn, is seen to set behind the hill. It may well just be a coincidence.

        Reply
        1. Fhithich avatar
          Fhithich

          Of course, you are right! Alas, my feeble endeavour to conjure a whimsical retort has flopped like a rich tea biscuit in a cup of tea. Indeed, Roseberry’s origins are likely to date a few million years before those charming ring cairns!

          Reply

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