Linear stone bank on Askham Fell

Reasons for Designation

The early linear boundaries were constructed from the Bronze Age to the early medieval period (c.2000 BC - AD 1066); closer dating within that period may be provided by their visible relationships to other classes of monument. They consist of stone walls, up to 3m wide and 1.1m high but usually much slighter, and are formed of heaped rubble, often incorporating edge- or end-set slabs called orthostats. Linear boundaries served a variety of functions. These included separating land regularly cultivated from that less intensively used, separating land held by different social groups, or delineating areas set aside for ceremonial, religious and funerary activities. Linear boundaries are often associated with other forms of contemporary field system and contain examples of an association, rarely encountered elsewhere. Hence certain linear boundaries directly link several cairns, cists, standing stones and other groups of prehistoric funerary monuments. The stone bank on Askham Fell survives reasonably well. It is situated upon an alignment of funerary monuments of Neolithic and Bronze Age date stretching for over 1.5km along the natural communication route over a col between Lowther and Ullswater valleys and is considered to be an original element of this alignment. It thus indicates the importance of the area in prehistoric times and will contribute to the study of the ceremonial function of funerary monuments in this area.

Details

The monument is a prehistoric stone bank located on a gentle west facing hillside on Askham Fell. It is aligned north west - south east and includes a stone bank measuring 37m long by 2.2m wide and 0.25m high that has kerbing stones along its edges. The bank is orientated directly towards a ring cairn 100m to the north west and approximately towards the Cop Stone 280m to the south east.

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:

22534

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

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