kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex struggled for control over North West England, along with the Britons and the Danes. Whatever its earlier use, the ditch has been used as a boundary since at least the Middle Ages. Legend has it Nico Ditch was completed in a single night by the inhabitants of Manchester, as a protection against Viking invaders in 869–870; Manchester may have been sacked by the Danes in 870. It was said that each man had an allocated area to construct, and was required to dig his section of the ditch and build a bank equal to his own height. According to 19th century folklore, the ditch was the site of a battle between Saxons and Danes. The battle was supposed to have given the nearby towns of Gorton and Reddish their names, from "Gore Town" and "Red-Ditch", but the idea has been dismissed by historians as a "popular fancy". The names derive from "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch" respectively. Antiquarians and historians have been interested in the ditch since the 19th century, but much of its course has been built over. Between 1990 and 1997, the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated sections of the ditch in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields, in an attempt to determine its age and purpose. Although no date was established for the ditch's construction, the investigations revealed that the bank to the north of the ditch is of 20th century origin. Together with the ditch's profile, which is U-shaped rather than the V-shape typically used in military ditches and defenses, this suggests that the purpose of the earthwork was to mark a territorial boundary. The conclusion of the project was that the ditch was probably a boundary marker. Preservation Despite heavy weathering, the ditch is still visible in short sections, which can be up to wide and up to deep. A stretch through Denton Golf Course, and a section running through Platt Fields Park, are considered the best preserved remains. In 1997, a segment of the ditch in Platt Fields was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The rest of the ditch remains unprotected. See also History of Manchester Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester References Bibliography Ancient dikes History of Greater Manchester History of Manchester Geography of Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Geography of Tameside Geography of Trafford Scheduled monuments in Greater Manchester Linear earthworks