Scot’s Dyke, also known as the Scots Dyke or the Scots Dike, is a

linear earthwork In archaeology, a linear earthwork is a long bank of earth, sometimes with a ditch alongside. There may also be a palisade along the top of the bank. Linear earthworks may have a ditch alongside which provides the source of earth for the bank and ...

in the district of

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

in the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It is about fourteen kilometres (8.5 miles) long and runs from the river

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

to the river Tees. Camden in Britannia says: “and neere at hand there is seene a ditch by Stanwig a little village, that runneth eight miles in length betweene the river Tees and Swale.” The Scot’s Dyke varies in size and form throughout its length, which show that each section was built by a separate group of workers. South of the A66 road the dyke had a bank up to high and 10m wide with a ditch wide and deep. On the eastern side of the ditch traces could be seen of a

counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...

bank approximately 5m wide. Parts of the dyke are possibly a double dyke (two banks with a ditch in the middle) as shown by the Ordnance Survey maps at the northern end of the dyke. A link with the earthworks of the

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

at Stanwick near the northern end of the dyke would make sense but there is no evidence of this. Excavations in advance of the A66 road improvements in 2006-2007 gave an opportunity for the dyke to be investigated. No artefacts were recovered from the excavation and the relationship between the Scot’s Dyke and the Roman road was not established but samples of the ditch fills were taken for dating: “Archaeomagnetic dating of sediment fills from Scots Dyke in 2006 provided results suggesting that the feature was starting to fill up in the period from the first century BC to the first century AD.” The Scot's Dyke should not be confused with the

Scots' Dike The Scots' Dike or dyke is a three and a half mile / 5.25 km long linear earthwork, constructed by the English and the Scots in the year 1552Mack, James Logan (1926). ''The Border Line'', p.94. Oliver & Boyd to mark the division of the Deb ...

that marks part of the border between England and Scotland.

References

{{coord, 54.448, -1.703, display=title Linear earthworks Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire