Pexton Moor

Pexton Moor lies in North Yorkshire, near Thornton-le-Dale, at the western edge of Dalby Forest. It is an archaeological site with a prehistoric cemetery from the British Iron Age. The area belongs to the Arras Culture, known for inhumation and chariot burials. A single chariot burial was found here in 1911 by John Kirk and Oxley Grabham. A local gamekeeper had spotted iron fragments while rabbiting and reported them. The site includes a square barrow with two upright iron wheels and an iron bridle bit. These were excavated in 1911 and later in 1935 with A.E. Wellsford. Ian Stead published the findings in 1959. The wheels and bridle were once displayed in York Castle Museum but now belong to the Yorkshire Museum. A round cairn, dating to the Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age, was scheduled in 1972. Two prehistoric linear boundaries stretch several hundred metres on the north and east edges. Visitors walk through Dalby Forest to reach the site. The barrow and cairn stand among heather and pine. The iron fragments and chariot parts are kept in the Yorkshire Museum. The site offers a quiet place to reflect on Iron Age burial practices. The linear boundaries mark the edges of the ancient landscape. It remains an important link to the region’s prehistoric past.