Reasons for Designation
Cairnfields are concentrations of cairns sited in close proximity to one another. They often consist largely of clearance cairns, built with stone cleared from the surrounding land surface to improve its use for agriculture, and on occasion their distribution pattern can be seen to define field plots. However, funerary cairns are also frequently incorporated, although without excavation it may be impossible to determine which cairns contain burials. Clearance cairns were constructed from the Neolithic period (from c.3400 BC), although the majority of examples appear to be the result of field clearance which began during the earlier Bronze Age and continued into the later Bronze Age (2000-700 BC). The considerable longevity and variation in the size, content and associations of cairnfields provide important information on the development of land use and agricultural practices. Cairnfields also retain information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation during the prehistoric period.
Mecklin Park cairnfield, 500m north of Ain House is preserved as a series of earthworks and buried deposits, including a variety of different cairn types with excavation indicating that some are funerary monuments. The cairns lie in a dramatic upland setting and are good examples. The monument provides insight into funerary rites, land clearance and upland land use during the Bronze Age.
Details
The monument includes the remains of a Bronze Age cairnfield situated on a ridge which runs WSW towards Irton Pike. The cairnfield contains at least 30 cairns measuring between 1.5m and 5m in diameter and standing 0.5m to 1m in height. Several of the cairns are round cairns with visible kerb stones. One was excavated in 1958 and found to contain a flint knife, three flint scrapers, a barbed and tanged arrowhead, sherds of Food Vessel pottery and 125 jet beads. Further partial excavations of several other cairns indicates that the cairnfield includes both funerary cairns and prehistoric clearance cairns. The cairnfield lies within an area exploited for iron ore in the 19th century, with remains related to this mining activity extending across and beyond the boundaries of the monument. A series of post-medieval boundary walls run through the scheduled area, which are not included in the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
CU 89
Legacy System:
RSM - OCN
End of official list entry
