Thornborough Henge

Map Referance : SE285795
54°12'57.12"N 1°34'14.14"W
Google Earth

This is a set of three Neolithic henges that lay in a northeast to southwest line within the flat plateau of land between the Rivers Ure and Swale All three henges would have been roughly the same size with a central circle around 18 metres in diameter, a 12 metre berm, ditches about 3 metres deep and 20 metres wide and with outer banks up to 3 metres high. They all had twin entrances, to the northwest and the southeast. The northern henge is probably the best preserved as it is covered in a small plantation. It still has a high bank and deep ditches with the 2 entrances both clearly defined.

The central henge is the most accessible but it's banks have been badly damaged in places and there is little trace of the interior ditch. It is interesting to note that it stands over an earlier mile long cursus which ran in a northeast to southwest direction. The southernmost of the 3 monuments is badly damaged but it is still recognisable as a henge structure and the banks are still wide although not very high.

It is now thought that the banks of the henges would have been covered in gypsum crystals, making them glitter in the sun and perhaps echoing the chalk earthworks of the south of England. Later the area became a focus for activity in the Bronze Age and around 2 dozen round barrows were built on the land around these henges.