Ryedale Windypits
The Ryedale Windypits (also Ashberry windypits or Windy Pits) are karst caves. They are located on the southern edge of the North York Moors in the Hambleton Hills near Helmsley in the Ryedale district of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire in England .
Fog emerges from the narrow entrances of the Windypits in winter and cold air in summer. The movement of air also stirs up the foliage near the entrances. Although there are about 40 Windypits in the region and many of them have been explored, only four of them have provided evidence of past human activity: Antofts, Ashberry, Bucklands, and Slip Gill.
After the first exploration of a Windypit by the geologist and paleontologist William Buckland (1784-1856) in 1832, the caves were further explored and partially excavated from the middle of the 20th century. Human remains in four Windypits were classified as late or end Neolithic due to their association with ceramics and flint tools . Research focused on the causes of the cave burials. In 2011, a team from Dundee University , led by Sue Black, examined an accumulation of bone in Slip Gill. The forensic examination revealed that at least one person had been scalped . Bones in neighboring pits also showed signs of violence. One shin had cut marks that indicated it was fleshed.
The Windypits are now used by bats as a shelter. Seven species of bats have been found in the caves, including the lesser bearded bat ( Myotis mystacinus ), the water bat ( Myotis daubentoni ), the fringed bat ( Myotis nattereri ) and the brown long-eared bat ( Plecotus auritus ).
Web links
- Megalithic Portal, private website with description in English. and pictures
- Description Engl.
- News item about a BBC broadcast
- Description Engl. and sketches
Coordinates: 54 ° 14 '20.1 " N , 1 ° 6' 11.3" W.