Etonbury in Arlesey has a set of earthwork defences, probably dating from the medieval period. The earthworks include rectangular area, 250 by 150 ft across, with a 140 by 50 ft enclosure on the SW, and large earthwork banks to the north, probably originally forming a D-shape and linked by a causeway to the larger enclosure. Further earthworks lie to the east. The ditches may have been linked to the River Hiz.
The origins of the defences are unclear. Archaeological remains suggest that the site was probably occupied in the 1st century AD and early Roman period. Until the 1970s, historians suspected the site was a Danish “harbour” site, constructed in the 10th century to enable Danish ships to dock safely during their invasion of England, but the direct evidence for this is now discredited. The site may instead have been an 11th century castle, constructed after the Norman Conquest of England, or a large, fortified manorial site built in the subsequent centuries, or some combination of the two.
Interpreting the site is made more difficult by the construction of the local railway line in the 19th century, the nearby site, and a substantial brickworks factory that operated until the mid-20th century, all of which caused severe damage to the earlier fortifications.
Bibliography
- Dyer, J. F. (1972) “Earthworks of the Danelaw Frontier” in P. J. Fowler (ed), 1972, Archaeology and the landscape: essays for L V Grinsell pp. 222-236.
- Kennett, D. H. (1973) “Bedfordshire Archaeology, 1972-1973,” Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal Volume 8, pp.138-143.