Grim's Ditch, Grim's Dyke (also Grimsdyke or Grimes Dike in derivative names) or Grim's Bank is a name shared by a number of prehistoric bank and ditch linear earthworks across England. They are of different dates and may have had different functions.
The purpose of these earthworks remains a mystery, but as they are too small for military use they may have served to demarcate territory. [1] Some of the Grims Ditches may have had multiple functions.
The name "Grim's Ditch" is Old English in origin. The Anglo-Saxon word dīc was pronounced "deek" in northern England and "deetch" in the south. The method of building this type of earthwork involved digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has resulted in the name dīc being given to either the trench or the bank, and this evolved into two words, ditch and dyke in modern British English.
The origin of the name Grim is shrouded in mystery, but there are several theories as to its origin. Many ancient earthworks of this name exist across England and Wales, pre-dating the Anglo Saxon settlement of Britain. It was common for the Anglo Saxons to name features of unexplained or mysterious origin Grim. Most scholars believe that the name derives from the Old Norse word Grimr, an Anglo-Saxon alias for the Norse God of War and Magic, Wōden (called Odin by the Norse) and meaning "the masked one". The name of Wōden is thought by some historians to be evident in Wansdyke, an ancient earthwork of uncertain origin which runs from Wiltshire to Somerset. The historian W. H. Stevenson draws a link between Grim, the Saxon alias for Wōden, and the name of Grim's Dyke:
If there were any evidence that Wōden was also known among the pagan English as Grim, as he was among the Norsemen, we might conclude that "Grims-Dic" was merely the equivalent of "Wodnes-dic". The Devil's Dyke, occasionally met with as the name of ditches, may be compared.
Frank Stenton notes that there is no direct evidence that Wōden was known in England as Grim, but (citing supporting claims by Professor Eilert Ekwall) states that it was very probable. He mentions three sites named Grimes Wrosen: one outside Colchester in Essex; another in Warwickshire on the route of the Roman road Watling Street; and Credenhill in Herefordshire. These earthworks, Stenton asserts, were either considered to have been the supernatural work of Wōden himself, or sites connected strongly with the cult of Wōden where the Anglo-Saxons worshipped the god. [3] Among Woden's many roles is that of a god of war, and it may be that the Anglo-Saxons perceived the earthworks as military in function and therefore ascribed them to him.[ citation needed ]
Another suggested origin of Grim may be in the Celtic name Grin or Gryn ( Gryan in Irish, a putative origin of the name Ryan ), a signifier of the Sun as a divinity. [4]
The identities of Wōden and the Devil have also become conflated, as evidenced in the number of earthworks named after the Devil. As the Anglo-Saxon population converted to the new religion of Christianity, baptised converts renounced the old Saxon Gods along with the works of the Devil. It is thought that, as a result of this Christianisation, place names and features once associated with pre-Christian deities then came to be associated with the Devil. [4] The names Grim, Graeme and Graham are closely connected and many British family and place names have been linked with the etymology of Wōden/Grim/Devil: Grimsby (residence of the Devil), Grimsthorpe (Village of the Devil), Grimshaw (the Devil's Wood), reflected in the use of dragon emblems in heraldry associated with Grim- names. [5] Earthworks bearing names related to Grim or the Devil proliferate around Britain: Grim's Ditches exist in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and West Yorkshire, and Devil's Dykes exist in Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk (near Weeting) and Hertfordshire. The Antonine Wall which once separated Scotland from Roman Britain is also sometimes known as Graham's Dyke. In Suffolk, a large Neolithic flint mine is known by the name of Grimes Graves. [6]
Beyond Britain, a set of Roman Limes on the borders of Hungary, Romania and Serbia are sometimes known as the Devil's Dykes in Hungarian.
Grim's Bank in West Berkshire runs for 2.8 miles (5 km) from inside the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, through Ufton Park woods to Ufton Nervet village. At Park Piece there are number of earthworks and Grim's Bank changes direction or may be a separate monument. Excavations in 1978 suggested there were two different earthworks and were most likely to be Iron Age in date. [7] These two parts of Grim's Bank are referred to as Grim's Bank I and Grim's Bank II. [8]
There is another Grim's Bank running south of Aldworth and Streatley. Excavations have shown that the ditch is not earlier than the third century AD. [9]
There are three sections of the Chiltern Grim's Ditch in Buckinghamshire:
It is not known if these sections of ditch were once a continuous feature or were built at separate times and had different functions. These sections are most likely to be of Iron Age date. [10]
Gryme's Dyke, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is one of a number of large linear earthwork dykes around the oppidum at Colchester. Most of the dykes were built in the late Iron Age to define and protect the important settlement centre of Camulodunum (Colchester), though some can be dated to the early Roman period which is probably when Gryme’s Dyke was constructed. The official scheduling says:
"The monument includes the buried and upstanding remains of the middle part of a late Iron Age or Romano-British linear boundary earthwork (Gryme's Dyke) located some 3.5km WSW of Colchester town centre."
"Fragments of pottery and a copied coin of the Emperor Claudius allow the bank to be tentatively dated to the period AD 40-75, perhaps constructed on the eve of the Roman conquest (AD 43), but more probably later and possibly as late as the aftermath of the Boudican revolt (AD 60-61)." [11]
Grim's Ditch also called Grim's Dyke stretches from Harrow Weald to Bushey Heath on the north western edge of Greater London. It extends for some 3 km but has been badly damaged by housing development in the twentieth century. The earthwork runs just south of the former county boundary between Hertfordshire and Middlesex. There is another earthwork close by in Pear Wood, Brockley Hill that has been suggested as an eastern continuation of the Grim's Dyke. This monument is of Roman or post-Roman date [12] and runs at ninety degrees to Watling Street.
A nearby house built in 1870-72, Grim's Dyke (sometimes also called Graeme's Dyke), was named after the earthworks. The large Victorian Gothic mansion was once the home of the opera librettist W. S. Gilbert and is now operated as a hotel. [13] Excavations in the ground of the Grim's Dyke Hotel in 1979 [14] suggested Grim's Dyke was earlier in date than the Pear Wood monument.
One Hampshire ditch encloses an area of 16 square miles (41 km2) on the Wiltshire and Dorset borders. [15] The earthwork runs for about 14 miles (23 km), and is a double-banked structure with a ditch between the banks. It crosses the present county boundary into Wiltshire. The Royal Commission's survey of Bokerley Dyke disputed the idea of Grim's Ditch being a single monument, and suggested it was a complex of separate sections. English Heritage's monument scheduling suggests that Grim's Ditch may be of Bronze Age or Early Iron Age date. [16]
Another can be found in west Hampshire, midway between the villages of Upton and Netherton.
The route of the Grim's Ditch in Hertfordshire passes through the town of Berkhamsted, and remnants of the earthwork can be seen on Berkhamsted Common. The Historic Environment Record for Hertfordshire suggests that the section on Berkhamsted Common is of Iron Age or early Roman date for the monument is most likely than the Bronze Age (date suggested for the rest of Grim's Ditch because it is larger here and does not follow the contours of the landscape like the rest of Grim's Ditch. [17] [18] [19]
There are three linear earthworks in Oxfordshire that are called Grim's Ditch.
The south Oxfordshire Grim's Ditch, also known as the Mongewell Ditch is a 5-mile (8 km) section between Mongewell on the banks of the Thames near Wallingford, and Hayden Farm near Nettlebed in the Chilterns escarpment. Part of the western end was excavated during the building of Winterbrook Bridge, and dated as late Iron Age/early Roman. The ditch has a bank on the north side which suggests that its function was to bar passage into the southernmost part of Oxfordshire. [20]
Considering the location of the ditch across the Chiltern Clayland, it is possible that the ditch could have functioned to block movement into Oxfordshire up the Thames valley. The heavier soils behind the ditch are far easier to move over, creating a solid defensive position. However, since a neighbouring set of earthworks, Streatly Ditches, faces north, it would be difficult to come to the conclusion that the two create a barrier against movement up the Thames valley. Furthermore, it could be argued that there is a possibility that people could simply cross the river at Streatley and just avoid both dykes altogether.
In terms of dating, one of the few finds on the site is a coin, dateable to the beginning of the 1st century BC. The ditch can also be compared to the identically-arranged Chichester Entrenchments, dating the ditch to around the Iron Age. The soil composition shows light soils being cleared for tillage and sheep, and clays bearing forest for raising animals, which is also characteristic of the Iron Age. [21]
There is another separate set of earthworks known as the north Oxfordshire Grim's Ditch to the northwest of Oxford. There are a whole series of discontinuous earthworks with gaps between them. The whole complex covers an area of around 80 km2. [22] There are two circuits of earthworks whose relationship is unknown. Excavation has shown the earthworks were built in the late Iron Age and went out of use by the Roman period. [23] There is a suggestion that the earthworks are part of an oppida [24] but if this is the case then it would be the largest one in Britain.
The north Oxfordshire Grim's Ditch is visible as a shallow ditch and a raised area south of North Leigh (accessible from the New Yatt footpath), in the woods west of Stonesfield (near the Blenheim Park boundary wall), running north near Grim's Dyke Farm at Glympton Assets, in the woods to the north of Glympton Assets and south-east of Ditchley Park.
A third Grim's Ditch is found on the Berkshire Downs and lies north of the county boundary between Oxfordshire and West Berkshire, running for 5 miles (8 km) near the Ridgeway, above the Oxfordshire villages of Ardington, Hendred and Chilton. This is thought to be of late Bronze Age date. [25]
The West Yorkshire Grim’s Ditch was recognised in the 1970s through the work of Dr Margaret Faull on the place names of West Yorkshire. It had escaped the attention of Yorkshire antiquarians because of the poor state of preservation. The Grim’s Ditch runs north to south between Leeds and Castleford with the ditch is the eastern side.[ clarification needed ] Late medieval documents only refer to the northern section as Grim’s Ditch. The Grim’s Ditch needed substantial effort to build as the ditch was cut into the shale bedrock in parts. [22] Radiocarbon dates from material excavated during archaeological work on the A1 (M) upgrading showed the Grim's Ditch was probably Iron Age in date with possible Roman reuse. [26] A length of the ditch at Brown Moor east of Leeds is preserved underground and is a scheduled monument. [27]
Sites named after Grim
Sites named after the Devil| Western end | Eastern end | |
|---|---|---|
| SU366566 | SU378565 | West Hampshire |
| SU042192 | SU133210 | Bokerley Dyke, Martin, Hampshire |
| SU007205 | SU145234 | Grim's Ditch, Dorset and Hampshire |
| SP359184 | SP426183 | North Oxfordshire |
| SU608882 | SU673872 | South Oxfordshire |
| SU4284 | SU6487 | Ridgeway |
| SU834977 | TL025085 | Chilterns |
| TQ114904 | TQ141929 | Harrow |
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Offa's Dyke is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to have ordered its construction. Although its precise original purpose is debated, it delineated the border between Anglian Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys.
Wansdyke is a series of early medieval defensive linear earthworks in the West Country of England, consisting of a ditch and a running embankment from the ditch spoil, with the ditching facing north.
Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia a short distance to the south-west.
Bokerley Dyke is a linear earthwork 5.75 kilometres (3.6 mi) long in Hampshire, between Woodyates and Martin. It is a Scheduled Monument. It is also spelt Bokerly Dyke.
Devil's Dyke or Devil's Ditch is a linear earthen barrier, thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, in eastern Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. It runs for 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) in an almost straight line from Reach to Woodditton, with a 10-metre-high (33 ft) ditch and bank system facing southwestwards, blocking the open chalkland between the marshy fens to the north and the formerly wooded hills to the south. It is a Scheduled Monument, a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.
Grim's Ditch is a series of linear earthwork in the Chilterns. A complete outline cannot be identified but separate sections exist over a 30-kilometre (19 mi) span between Bradenham, Buckinghamshire, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and as far as Pitstone and Ivinghoe Buckinghamshire. Pottery shards have been unearthed in excavations during the 1970s and 1980s suggesting that its origin may have been during the Iron Age and was believed to have been during a period when the landscape was clearer of scrub and the dense woodland than today as the straighter sections would have required clear lines of sight. The first mention of Grim's Ditch was a grant of 1170–90 in the Missenden Cartulary referring to it as Grimesdic. The Anglo Saxons commonly named features of unexplained or mysterious origin Grim. The word derives from the Norse word grimr meaning devil and a nickname for Odin or Wodin the God of War and Magic. Another mention is to be found in a 10th-century Anglo Saxon boundary charter for the Mongewell area.
Devil's Dyke is the remains of a prehistoric defensive ditch which lies at the east side of the village of Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England. It is protected as a Scheduled Monument. It is generally agreed to have been part of the defences of an Iron Age settlement belonging to the Catuvellauni tribe of Ancient Britain. It has possible associations with Julius Caesar's second invasion of Britain
Grim's Ditch or Grim's Dyke or Grimes Dike is a linear earthwork in the London Borough of Harrow, in the historic county of Middlesex, and lends its name to the gentle escarpment it crowns, marking Hertfordshire's border. Thought to have been built by the Catuvellauni tribe as a defence against the Romans, it extended east-west about 6 miles (9.7 km) from the edge of Stanmore where an elevated neighbourhood of London, Stanmore Hill, adjoins Bushey Heath to the far north of Pinner Green – Cuckoo Hill. Today the remaining earthworks start mid-way at Harrow Weald Common.
Fleam Dyke is a linear earthwork between Fulbourn and Balsham in Cambridgeshire, initiated at some timepoint between AD 330 and AD 510. It is three miles long and seven metres high from ditch to bank, and its ditch faces westwards, implying invading Saxons as its architects. Later, it formed a boundary of the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Flendish Hundred. At a prominent point, the earthwork runs beside Mutlow Hill, crowned by a 4000-year-old Bronze Age burial mound.
The Aberford Dykes are a series of archaeological monuments located around the valley of the Cock Beck, where it runs just north of the village of Aberford on the border between North and West Yorkshire, England.
Bran Ditch or Heydon Ditch is generally assumed to be an Anglo-Saxon earthwork in southern Cambridgeshire, England.
Brent Ditch is generally assumed to be an Anglo-Saxon earthwork in Southern Cambridgeshire, England, built around the 6th and 7th centuries AD. However most of its structure has been lost over time. The site is scheduled as an ancient monument by Historic England.
Black Ditches is an earthwork close to the village of Cavenham of Suffolk, and part of it is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The earthwork is 4.5 miles long between the River Lark at Lackford and the Icknield Way. It is described by the Suffolk Historic Environment Record as having no direct dating evidence but "by analogy with other linear earthworks in the region it is usually assumed to be post Roman".
Aves Ditch is an Iron Age ditch and bank structure running about 3 miles (4.8 km) on a northeast to southwest alignment in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire.
The Devil's Quoits is a henge and stone circle to the south of the village of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire, England. The site is believed to be from the Neolithic Period, between 4000 and 5000 years old, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The Quoits were restored between 2002 and 2008, with stones which had been knocked over or had fallen over being re-erected, and the surrounding earthworks rebuilt.
Blewburton Hill is the site of an Iron Age hillfort located in Oxfordshire, in the southeast of England. It was a univallate hillfort. The area is mostly farmland with some small areas of wooded copse to the south and the northeast. The hill fort may have been occupied from the 4th century BC to the 1st century BC, and replaced a small settlement surrounded by a stockade, which is estimated to have been built in the 5th or 6th century BC.
Cholesbury Camp is a large and well-preserved Iron Age hill fort on the northern edge of the village of Cholesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is roughly oval-shaped and covers an area, including ramparts, of 15 acres (6.1 ha), and measures approximately 310 m (1,020 ft) north-east to south-west by 230 m (750 ft) north-west to south-east. The interior is a fairly level plateau which has been in agricultural use since the medieval period. The hill fort is now a scheduled ancient monument.
The Devil's Humps are four Bronze Age barrows situated on Bow Hill on the South Downs near Stoughton, West Sussex. They are situated on a downland ridgeway crossed by an ancient trackway, above Kingley Vale. The Devil's Humps are counted among the most impressive round barrows surviving on the South Downs. The Devil's Humps are within the Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. The two bell barrows together with two pond barrows and a cross dyke are listed as Scheduled Ancient Monument 1008371, while the two bowl barrows are listed as Scheduled Ancient Monument 1008372.
A cross dyke or cross-dyke is a linear earthwork believed to be a prehistoric land boundary that usually measures between 0.2 and 1 kilometre in length. A typical cross dyke consists of one or more ditches running in parallel with one or more raised banks. Univallate cross dykes typically have a flat-bottomed ditch while the ditches of multivallate cross dykes possess a V-shaped cross-section. A defining characteristic of a cross dyke is that it cuts across the width of an upland ridge or the neck of an upland spur. Cross dykes generally occur at altitudes over 150 metres (490 ft) above mean sea level.