Skipsea Castle Iron Age Mound
       
     
the outer ramparts
       
     
a mooing of guard cows
       
     
DSI_2381.jpg
       
     
Skipsea Castle IA Mound_1.jpg
       
     
Skipsea Castle IA Mound_3.jpg
       
     
 Close-up panorama of the mound which, on this occasion, had a sort of ice filled moatif (see what I did there?) going on.
       
     
rubble!
       
     
Skipsea Castle Iron Age Mound
       
     
Skipsea Castle Iron Age Mound

It looks like Silbury. It sounds like Silbury. It smells like Silbury, but it isn't Silbury! It's the motte of Skipsea Castle in the East Riding of Yorkshire and what makes it even more interesting is that the motte isn't Norman like the rest of the site and predates the castle by 1500 years making it Iron Age! Core sampling back in 2016 by Dr. Jim Leary as part of the Ancient Mounds project revealed its true age. It's about half the height of Silbury at about 13m and is the largest Iron Age man-made mound in the UK. What they couldn't work out, much like Silbury, is what its function was. Hmmm...now let me see. Burial mound, Earth Godess, pyramid, landmark for guiding Iron Age folk through a low lying marshy area? Who knows?

the outer ramparts
       
     
the outer ramparts
a mooing of guard cows
       
     
a mooing of guard cows
DSI_2381.jpg
       
     
Skipsea Castle IA Mound_1.jpg
       
     
Skipsea Castle IA Mound_3.jpg
       
     
 Close-up panorama of the mound which, on this occasion, had a sort of ice filled moatif (see what I did there?) going on.
       
     

Close-up panorama of the mound which, on this occasion, had a sort of ice filled moatif (see what I did there?) going on.

rubble!
       
     
rubble!

I’m guessing that at some time there was a stone keep on top of the motte which has slowly disappeared leaving this about half way down the mound.