Reasons for Designation
In Cumbria and Northumberland several distinctive types of native settlements
dating to the Roman period have been identified. The majority were small, non-
defensive, enclosed homesteads or farms. In many areas they were of stone
construction, although in the coastal lowlands timber-built variants were also
common. In much of Northumberland, especially in the Cheviots, the enclosures
were curvilinear in form. Further south a rectangular form was more common.
Elsewhere, especially near the Scottish border, another type occurs where the
settlement enclosure was `scooped' into the hillslope. Frequently the
enclosures reveal a regularity and similarity of internal layout. The standard
layout included one or more stone round-houses situated towards the rear of
the enclosure, facing the single entranceway. In front of the houses were
pathways and small enclosed yards. Homesteads normally had only one or two
houses, but larger enclosures could contain as many as six. At some sites the
settlement appears to have grown, often with houses spilling out of the main
enclosure and clustered around it. At these sites up to 30 houses may be
found. In the Cumbrian uplands the settlements were of less regimented form
and unenclosed clusters of houses of broadly contemporary date are also known.
These homesteads were being constructed and used by non-Roman natives
throughout the period of the Roman occupation. Their origins lie in settlement
forms developed before the arrival of the Romans. These homesteads are common
throughout the uplands where they frequently survive as well-preserved
earthworks. In lowland coastal areas they were also originally common,
although there they can frequently only be located through aerial photography.
All homestead sites which survive substantially intact will normally be
identified as nationally important.
Despite disturbance and the levelling of all upstanding remains,
significant information about the date and form of construction of the
settlement at Hazlerigg will survive. Important archaeological deposits
will survive below the present ground surface, which will reveal the date
and evolution of the settlement and the form of its component structures.
Important evidence for the nature and duration of occupation will survive
within the settlement areas and the internal floor areas of the hut
circles. Evidence for earlier land use and the contemporary environment
and economy will be preserved within the buried ditches and other subsoil
features. Overall the site will contribute to further study of the late
Iron Age and Romano-British settlement patterns in this area.
Details
The monument includes two rectangular enclosured settlements, visible as
crop marks, situated in an arable field immediately to the south of a
housing estate towards the southern fringe of Hazlerigg. They are located
on heavy clay loams and boulder clay overlying Upper Carboniferous
deposits. Their similarity to comparable excavated sites in the north east
indicates that they are of late Iron Age or Romano-British date. Further
settlement remains, including hut circles, lying outside the enclosures
are also included. These remains are in two separate areas of protection.
The northern of the two settlements is sub-square in plan, with rounded
corners and includes two close set ditches. The outer of the two ditches
encloses an area 75m by 75m, with an inner ditch set 10m inside it. The
site has been investigated by geophysical survey and anomalies interpreted
as the remains of two hut circles lie in close proximity to the enclosure.
The first, immediately to the north of the northern side of the enclosure,
measures 16m in diameter. The second, 30m to the south east of the south
eastern corner of the enclosure, measures 14m in diameter.
The second of the two enclosured settlements is situated 140m to the south
of the northern settlement, and is trapezoidal in plan, orientated north
west to south east, and is thought to be defined by a single ditch. Each
of the sides of the enclosure measure 60m, except for western side, which
measures 50m. The area within and immediately around the enclosure retains
the complex remains of a palimpsest of settlement activity, evidenced as
geophysical anomalies. The remains of settlement activity include a
series of seven intercutting hut circles, a pair of intercutting hut
circles, a lone hut circle, a ditch and a curvilinear ditch.
Five of the seven intercutting hut circles are located within the
trapezoidal enclosure, with the remaining two, either cutting or cut by
the northern side of the enclosure. The hut circles range from 7m to 20m
in diameter and are thought largely to be non-contemporaneous.
The pair of intercutting hut circles are located approximately 16m to the
west of the western side of the trapezoidal enclosure. The larger of the
two measures 14m in diameter, and the smaller, 10m in diameter.
The lone hut circle is located 7m to the east of the eastern side of the
trapezoidal enclosure and measures 10m in diameter.
The ditch is orientated north to south, begins 14m from the north west
corner of the trapezoidal enclosure and continues north for 30m.
The curvilinear ditch is orientated east to west, begins 70m from the
north east corner of the trapezoidal enclosure and continues west for 50m.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath them is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
