A sunken lane (also hollow way or holloway) is a

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

or track that is significantly lower than the land on either side, not formed by the (recent) engineering of a road cutting but possibly of much greater age. Holloways may have been formed in various ways, including erosion by water or traffic; the digging of embankments to assist with the herding of livestock; and the digging of double banks to mark the boundaries of estates.

Means of formation

A variety of theories have been proposed for the origins of holloways. Different mechanisms may well apply in different cases.

Erosion

Some sunken lanes are created incrementally by erosion, by

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and traffic. Some are ancient, with evidence of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

origins, but others such as the Deep Hill Ruts in the old

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

Guernsey, Wyoming Guernsey is a town in Platte County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,147 at the 2010 census. The town was named for C. A. Guernsey, a cattle rancher. Geography Guernsey is located at (42.267251, −104.743187). According to the ...

, developed in the space of a decade or two. Where ancient trackways have lapsed from use, the overgrown and shallow marks of hollow ways through forest may be the sole evidence of their former existence. On disused ridgeways in central Germany, the hollow ways often mark inclines.Nicke, Herbert: ''Vergessene Wege'', Nümbrecht: Martina Galunder Verlag, 2001 The earth banks on either side, sometimes topped with hedges and trees, can give the impression of a tunnel enclosing the traveller. Because the roadway is restricted by the banks on either side, sunken lanes typically admit the passage of only one vehicle; that is, they are

single track road A single-track road or one-lane road is a road that permits two-way travel but is not wide enough in most places to allow vehicles to overtaking, pass one another (although sometimes two compact cars can pass). This kind of road is common in r ...

s. Occasional passing places may be provided, but a meeting of vehicles in a sunken lane often requires one party to reverse to a suitable passing place. In Central Germany, "dual carriageways" have been observed with two trenches side by side where a trackway was in such heavy use that it had lanes dedicated for each direction.

Embankments for cattle

Up to the present day, some writers have assumed that low banks were deliberately created with shovels as a means to hem in cattle, but there is no evidence for this, and in any case, banking only appears intermittently in certain types of soil. When

metalled A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

, sunken lanes are unlikely to erode further.

Double boundary banks

In '' The Making of the English Landscape'', W. G. Hoskins explains the origin of some English holloways as a pair of matched earth banks marking the boundaries of two landowners' estates, as evidenced by the "two-fold ditch", ''twifealda dich'', in a charter of c. 1174 describing the boundary between the abbot of Tavistock's land at Abbotsham,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and Richard Coffin's land at Alwington and

Cockington Cockington is a village near Torquay, in the Torbay district, in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Cockington with Chelston had a population of 8,366 in 2021. It has old cottages within its boundaries, and is about two miles from the ce ...

. He gives another example, also from Devon, in a photograph of Armourwood Lane, Thorverton, which bounded the royal Silverton estate and the estate of Exeter abbey, most likely in the seventh century. Hoskins states that some such lanes are

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, some

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, some

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

In different countries

Belgium

A sunken lane extending across the battlefield played an important role in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in 1815, particularly in presenting an obstacle to the French cavalry.

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

dramatized this episode in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''.

France

Sunken lanes are common in the West of France, in the ''

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of northern France, southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands, northern Spain and northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ' ...

'' landscape, especially around Lower Normandy,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and Anjou. The ''bocage'' landscape is historically famous for having been a particular feature of some conflicts, including the

Chouannerie The Chouannerie (; from the Chouan brothers, two of its leaders) was a House of Bourbon, royalist uprising or counter-revolutionary, counter-revolution in twelve of the western departments of France, ''départements'' of France, particularly in ...

, or more recently the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

. The German army used sunken lanes to implement strong points and defenses to stop the American troops on the Cotentin peninsula and around the town of

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Hawthorn Ridge west of Beaumont Hamel in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, is remembered as an assembly point for British troops, many of whom were filmed there on the first day on the Somme (1 July 1916) by Geoffrey Malins for the film '' The Battle of the Somme''.

Germany

One of the largest networks of such routes in Germany is to be found in the municipalities of Alsheim and Mettenheim in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, where there they make up over 30 km of hiking trails. Some of these sunken lanes can be up to 5 metres deep.

Spain

In Galicia and western

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

(both regions of northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) the sunken lanes are usually called ''congostras'' or ''corredoiras'', from Latin ''coangusta'' 'confined' and ''curro, currere'' 'run', being a common and characteristic feature of rural areas. Some lanes are now being recovered as hiking trails.

Syria

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, faint traces of hollow ways attest to a dense network of tracks or paths connecting

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

sites with each other and with their cultivation zones in the fourth and third millennia BC, and thousands of kilometres of such routes have been surveyed.

United Kingdom

Sunken lanes are a characteristic feature of the landscape of

southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

, especially in the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

areas of the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...

, and

greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...

areas such as the Weald. The Surrey Hills AONB has many sunken lanes. Seal Hollow Road in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

is a fine example of a sunken lane in southern England. They are a particular feature of the West Country, in counties such as

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, and west Wales – areas unaffected by the land enclosures of mediaeval England.Pryor, Francis. ''The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today''. Penguin, 2011. The English surname Holloway (hollow-way) derives from the Old English "hola weg", a sunken road. While many sunken lanes are now

, some are still unsurfaced green lanes, typically now designated as either

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

s or byways. A sunken road is a cross country equestrian obstacle. Image:CanterburyHollowLane4396.JPG, The aptly named Hollow Lane, Canterbury, UK, joins the city to the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

, Stone Street Image:newtonhollows.jpg, The old Roman road from

Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary castra, fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix, Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the ...

to Wilderspool, Newton Hollows, Cheshire Image:A sunken way Witley, England..jpg, A sunken way, Witley, Surrey Image:Exposed roots on the bank of a sunken lane.jpg, Exposed roots on the bank of a holloway, Witley, Surrey

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Road types Ancient roads and tracks Rural geography Types of roads