Ring cairn on Askham Fell including The Cop Stone

Reasons for Designation

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

Despite minor disturbance to the monument's bank and centre, the ring cairn on Askham Fell and the Cop Stone survive reasonably well and undisturbed archaeological deposits will lie within the ring cairn. The monument lies within an area of open fell rich in prehistoric monuments, and is situated upon an alignment of funerary monuments stretching for over 1.5km along the natural communication route over a col between Lowther and Ullswater valleys. It thus indicates the importance of this area in prehistoric times and will contribute to the study of the ceremonial function of ring cairns and other spatially associated monuments in the area.

Details

The monument is a ring cairn on Askham Fell together with the Cop Stone standing stone. It includes an approximately circular discontinuous turf-covered stone bank 1.5m - 4m wide and up to 0.2m high that has an internal diameter of c.20m. Four stones 0.3m - 0.38m high protrude from the bank and there is a slight semicircular projection of the bank on the northern side. The area within the bank is generally flat but pock marked with shallow depressions, the largest being off-centre towards the west and measuring about 1.5m diameter. Set within the south eastern side of the bank is the Cop Stone, an unworked orthostat 1.7m high by 1.2m by 1m. Antiquarian records indicate that during the mid 1880's the bank was almost continuous and contained more than ten recumbent stones.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

22533

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell, (1992), 6
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell Survey Catalogue, (1992), 23-4
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell Survey Catalogue, (1992), 20

Other
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Ring Cairns, (1988)
RCHME, Westmorland, (1936)

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