Castle Dykes Henge

Castle Dykes Henge is a well-preserved Class I Neolithic henge earthwork in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, situated between the villages of Aysgarth and Thornton Rust. The roughly circular monument measures over 75 metres across the bank crest, with an average height of 2 metres from bank to ditch bottom. A narrow eastern entrance features a causeway only 2 metres wide, and there is some evidence of short stones arranged in a circle along the inner bank slope. Unusually for henges, it sits on a glacial ridge at 300 metres elevation rather than a typical low-lying riverside terrace, commanding wide views to the north, east, and west. The monument's scale suggests a well-organised society with surplus resources for construction.