The Ryedale Windypits are archaeologically significant natural underground features within the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and A ...

National Park. This series of fissures in the Hambleton Hills, near

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale o ...

, is located on the Western slope above the River Rye.

Description

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 In physics, a vapor (American English) or vapour (British English and Canadian English; see spelling differences) is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature,R. H. Petrucci, W. S. Harwood, and F. G. He ...

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 A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

nearby. There are more than 40 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

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...

s. 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.

Exploration

The first recorded exploration of a Windypit was by Rev.

William Buckland William Buckland DD, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named ' ...

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 The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

or Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

burials due to their association with the

Beaker pottery The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...

and flint tools found in the chambers of the fissures.

Archaeology

In 2011, the BBC's ''

History Cold Case ''History Cold Case'' is a British documentary television series in which scientists use modern forensic techniques to investigate ancient remains. Two series of ''History Cold Case'' aired on BBC Two between 6 May 2010 and 21 July 2011. The t ...

'' programme featured a team from the Centre of Anatomy and Human Identification at the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

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.

References

External links

Discover North Yorkshire: Unlocking the secrets of the windypits
{{Commons category, Ryedale windypits Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Yorkshire Caves of North Yorkshire Wikipedia requested photographs of geology