Big cairn on Pot Scar

[Lankyman]

Does anyone know if the very large summit cairn on Pot Scar (above Feizor) has any archaeological significance? I was up there again yesterday and have often wondered if it is a prehistoric burial cairn. It's in an ideal place for one but it doesn't feature as such on the OS maps. I think I may have contacted YDNP some years ago but never received a response.

 

[Goydenman]

wouldn't know sorry........... Pot Scar one of my favourite climbing spots. Great place

 

[Lankyman]

wouldn't know sorry........... Pot Scar one of my favourite climbing spots. Great place

Yes, it's a lovely little crag. We once walked to the top after climbing to observe a passing thunderstorm. Not one of my most sensible ideas.

 

[Pitlamp]

Is it in David Johnson's "Ingleborough" book? That's pretty much the definitive source for such queries.

 

[Lankyman]

Is it in David Johnson's "Ingleborough" book? That's pretty much the definitive source for such queries.

I think I had this from the local library years ago but I don't have a copy. If anyone else has one and could take a look?

 

[mikem]

Just says: "the cairn's size indicating the site of a former watch tower or beacon"

A Three Peaks Up and Under

The Scars of Feizor: A Celtic Wander Following Ancient Footsteps on a Limestone Upland The undulating countryside around the hidden...

oldfieldslimestone.blogspot.com

 

[Lankyman]

Just says: "the cairn's size indicating the site of a former watch tower or beacon"

A Three Peaks Up and Under

The Scars of Feizor: A Celtic Wander Following Ancient Footsteps on a Limestone Upland The undulating countryside around the hidden...

oldfieldslimestone.blogspot.com

I'm not convinced about the 'watch tower' explanation. There's nothing on the OS map to show anything old or ancient. He doesn't give a source for this and I've never seen this used anywhere else. It's curious that he also mentions the same for Smearsett Scar, again with no source given. On the ground at both summits there doesn't seem to be any evidence of coursed layers of stonework that you might expect for a 'tower'?

 

[Relict]

Hello Lankyman. Yes this site is both unique and extremely puzzling. As you note it has few comments in literature and perhaps has been studiously avoided by many commentators on sites that may be ancient or maybe not?
Not having coursed stonework might mean it was hurriedly constructed?
It has the impression of being a sort of "launchpad" for something facing roughly south perhaps ?
There is some evidence, perhaps slight, for conflict between possibly indigenous neolithic peoples and possible continental intruders or immigrants in the vicinity of Feizor. See "Going Underground" by Stephany Leach, YAS.
It is not impossible that the "watchtower" hypothesis could be extended to be an archery or spear throwing platform That's a wild guess but it's fair to seek to imagine a good reason to build such a thing. I find the "ritual" etc , maybe burials and so on, a bit of a prehistoric cop-out explanation for things that puzzle. I have an instinct that people did stuff for practical reasons.

 

[Pitlamp]

As no-one has responded I dug out my own copy of the 2nd edition of David Johnson's Ingleborough book. A quick glance suggests it doesn't appear to mention the Pot Scar cairn directly. But pages 105 to 157 are devoted to the local archaeology, so by reading through that you might spot clues that help. Mention of comparable structures may guide your thinking on the cairn in question. Your local library would get it in for you of course. Or I think they're still selling copies at the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust office in Clapham. Can't remember the cover price but I don't think it was expensive. It's a nice book and perhaps worth having anyway.

I'd like to bet that someone in the Ingleborough Archaeology Group would know the answer. If you're keen to find out you could find their website, make contact and ask?

 

[Lankyman]

As no-one has responded I dug out my own copy of the 2nd edition of David Johnson's Ingleborough book. A quick glance suggests it doesn't appear to mention the Pot Scar cairn directly. But pages 105 to 157 are devoted to the local archaeology, so by reading through that you might spot clues that help. Mention of comparable structures may guide your thinking on the cairn in question. Your local library would get it in for you of course. Or I think they're still selling copies at the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust office in Clapham. Can't remember the cover price but I don't think it was expensive. It's a nice book and perhaps worth having anyway.

I'd like to bet that someone in the Ingleborough Archaeology Group would know the answer. If you're keen to find out you could find their website, make contact and ask?

Yes, thanks for looking, Pitlamp. I'll try the Ingleborough AC but as we're currently on a long ferry trip to Naxos just now I'll wait until I've recuperated.