Ryedale Windypits
Encyclopedia
The Ryedale Windypits are archaeologically significant natural underground features within the North York Moors
National Park. This series of fissures in the Hambleton Hills
, near Helmsley
, is located on the Western slope above the river Rye
. Their name is a local one, derived from their tendency to emit gusts of air and steam from their narrow entrances. The phenomenon is caused by warm or cold air rising from the fissures and coming into contact with the air outside the entrance. In winter a steamy vapour rises in puffs or jets from the holes. In warmer months cold air can be felt in the passage entrances, sometimes moving so violently as to vibrate the foliage nearby. There are over forty known windypits, but only four windypits have known significant archaeological deposits. These are Antofts, Ashberry, Bucklands and Slip Gill. Due to their geological significance, several of the windypits are designated as SSSIs. The windypits are used as an amenity for cavers and potholers, and are also nationally important swarming and roosting sites for bats. Seven species of bat have been recorded including whiskered Myotis mystacinus, Daubenton's M. daubentoni
, Natterer's M. nattereri
and brown long-eared Plecotus auritus. All of the Ryedale Windypits are located in or on the edge of woodland or forestry plantation.
The first recorded exploration of a Windypit was by Rev. William Buckland
in 1832, and subsequently these caves were explored and partially excavated during the mid 20th century. The human remains from the four Windypits are Late Neolithic
or Early Bronze Age
burials due to their association with the Beaker pottery and flint tools found in the chambers of the fissures.
In 2011, the BBC's History Cold Case
programme featured a team from the Centre of Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee
investigating the site. Their investigation focused on particular on a tangle of 2,000 year-old bones, possibly those of a family, found in Slip Gill Windy Pit in the 1950s. A forensic examination of the bones, revealed evidence that at least one of them had been scalped. Further investigations by the team looked at bones found in neighbouring pits. Those too showed signs of blunt force trauma, confirming inter-personal violence as well as a shin bone which had markings that were consistent with the removal of flesh from bone.
North York Moors
The North York Moors is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. The moors are one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of , and it has a population of about 25,000...
National Park. This series of fissures in the Hambleton Hills
Hambleton Hills
The Hambleton Hills are a range of hills in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. They form the western edge of the North Yorkshire Moors but are separated from the moors by the valley of the River Rye...
, near Helmsley
Helmsley
Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. The town is located at the point where the valleys of Bilsdale and Ryedale leave the higher moorland and join the flat Vale of Pickering. It is situated on the River Rye and lies on the A170 road, east...
, is located on the Western slope above the river Rye
River Rye, Yorkshire
The River Rye is a river in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises just south of the Cleveland Hills, east of Osmotherley, and flows through Hawnby, Rievaulx, Helmsley, Nunnington, West and East Ness, Butterwick, Brawby, and Ryton, before joining the River Derwent at near Malton.On some...
. Their name is a local one, derived from their tendency to emit gusts of air and steam from their narrow entrances. The phenomenon is caused by warm or cold air rising from the fissures and coming into contact with the air outside the entrance. In winter a steamy vapour rises in puffs or jets from the holes. In warmer months cold air can be felt in the passage entrances, sometimes moving so violently as to vibrate the foliage nearby. There are over forty known windypits, but only four windypits have known significant archaeological deposits. These are Antofts, Ashberry, Bucklands and Slip Gill. Due to their geological significance, several of the windypits are designated as SSSIs. The windypits are used as an amenity for cavers and potholers, and are also nationally important swarming and roosting sites for bats. Seven species of bat have been recorded including whiskered Myotis mystacinus, Daubenton's M. daubentoni
Daubenton's bat
Daubenton's Bat, Myotis daubentonii, is a Eurasian bat with quite short ears. It ranges from Britain to Japan and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas.The name commemorates the French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton....
, Natterer's M. nattereri
Natterer's bat
Natterer's bat is a European bat with pale wings. It has brown fur, also seen on the leg wing membrane, tending to white on its underside...
and brown long-eared Plecotus auritus. All of the Ryedale Windypits are located in or on the edge of woodland or forestry plantation.
The first recorded exploration of a Windypit was by Rev. William Buckland
William Buckland
The Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...
in 1832, and subsequently these caves were explored and partially excavated during the mid 20th century. The human remains from the four Windypits are Late Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
or Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burials due to their association with the Beaker pottery and flint tools found in the chambers of the fissures.
In 2011, the BBC's History Cold Case
Cold Case
Cold Case is an American police procedural television series which ran on CBS from September 28, 2003 to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases. On May 18, 2010, CBS announced that the series had...
programme featured a team from the Centre of Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
investigating the site. Their investigation focused on particular on a tangle of 2,000 year-old bones, possibly those of a family, found in Slip Gill Windy Pit in the 1950s. A forensic examination of the bones, revealed evidence that at least one of them had been scalped. Further investigations by the team looked at bones found in neighbouring pits. Those too showed signs of blunt force trauma, confirming inter-personal violence as well as a shin bone which had markings that were consistent with the removal of flesh from bone.