Pompocali

[Jogon]

Tyke wrote: But of a coincidence but I was searching for local walks this morning and came upon this.http://www.theaa.com/walks/bardsey-and-pompocali-421274 Well spotted. Start at the Bingley Arms. Walk round to the New Inn. Bus to Leeds for the Duck & Drake. Journey north west to Whitelocks. Seach out the No1 on Albion Street and visit the old village of Headingley, there seek out Arcadia.Journey northwards and be sure to view the interior of The Stable block of Weetwood Hall.

[Steve Jones]

yes,I found the same walk when looking up the place in my lunch break.I plan to go there later in the year when the weather warms up !

[Leodian]

I took the 2 attached photos on April 20 2018 during a walk by Pompocali. The interesting and intriguing Pompocali is worth a visit to it and nearby sites (such as Hetchell Wood/Crag and the old railway track if doing a circular walk from Bardsey). It's best however if the weather has been fine as though Pompocali drains well the nearby areas can be very muddy.

PompocaliNearScarcroftLeedsApr202018(1)..jpg (125.61 KiB) Viewed 20140 times

PompocaliNearScarcroftLeedsApr202018(2)..jpg (120.95 KiB) Viewed 20140 times

[rikj]

A Bardsey resident, Hazel Hill, had a website about Pompocali and Hetchell, the result of taking A-level archaeology as -in her words- a very mature student.

The website no longer exists, but it was trawled by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and a couple of complete captures of the site can be recalled and viewed there.

I’ve copied some of the “About me” page of the site as it gives links to where fuller versions of the work have been deposited, and information about the author.

“I grew up in Bardsey well over 60 years ago, and since childhood I have always been intrigued by the unexplained Pompocali earthworks.

Antiquarians, Ralph Thoresby and Dean Gale in 1719, considered them to be of Roman and Danish origin, and even then they appeared ancient. However I have been unable to find anything in their writings to explain their interpretation.

For over 10 years I have been involved in many archaeological excavations as a volunteer. In 2003/2004 The opportunity arose to study "A" level archaeology as a very mature student, and I decided to take the Pompocali earthworks site as my project. The title of the project being "What evidence is there for early huiman activity in the Pompocali area?"

A trawl of libraries and archives revealed very little had been written about Pompocali, so my approach to the site has been to spend many hours on field observations, studying maps and studying the geology of the area.
My "A" level project 2004, has been deposited at the West Yorkshire Archive Service (WYAS), in Wakefield.

A fuller interpretation of the Pompocali earthworks and Hetchell crags, (when no longer constrained by the limits of the examination system), dated 2006, has also been produced. Copies are deposited at;-
WYAS
Leeds Central Library, (Local Studies Section)
Yorkshire Archaeological Society at Claremont, Leeds.”


I have my own theories about Pompocali but will leave those for another post

[Leodian]

Thanks rikj for that information .

Pompocali is a very intriguing site as to what its correct origin is.

[Leodian]

I took the attached photo during a visit to the Pompocali site on August 14 2020. The heather there (as elsewhere locally recently) looked excellent making the whole site even more interesting looking.

PompocaliSiteNearBardseyLeedsAug142020..jpg (275.05 KiB) Viewed 13755 times

[warringtonrhino]

Thanks Leodian, you are making me homesick. When I lived in Leeds we went there most weeks to collect water from the spring, it is the best spring water I know.

[Leodian]

Thanks Leodian, you are making me homesick. When I lived in Leeds we went there most weeks to collect water from the spring, it is the best spring water I know.

Hi warringtonrhino .

I have had a walk here once or twice a year for very many years and the spring has always run even in very dry periods. It is also always cool water even in warm weather. For anyone not knowing it the spring water quickly runs into the ford across Bardsey Beck. I wonder if it ran in Roman times as a Roman Road is believed to have passed there.

[warringtonrhino]

I suspect that because it is a natural feature, it has probably always existed. In my lifetime the issue has moved a couple of feet upstream due to natural erosion.