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.
Details
The monument includes an enclosed settlement of Romano-British date situated
on a sloping site with an easterly aspect. It comprises the foundations of at
least three stone houses; the most conspicuous pair, situated at the northern
end of the settlement, are 9m in diameter within walls of stone 0.8m high and
2m wide. These are faced with large stones, the core being infilled with
smaller stones. The second hut-circle opens off the first through an entrance
2m wide. 10m to the south-west there is a third and possibly a fourth
hut-circle 6m in diameter situated against the crag edge. Abutting the linked
pair of hut-circles at their southern ends is an earth and stone wall on
average 1.5m wide and standing to a height of 0.8m; the wall continues for
some 65m in a curving arc to the south and is thought to form the eastern side
of an irregular shaped enclosure with a centrally placed entrance through it.
An apparently more angular and less well defined return wall is visible on the
western side. Earlier accounts of this settlement describe a further two
hut-circles beyond the enclosure to the south. These are included in the
scheduling as they survive beneath the present dense vegetation cover. The
stone field wall which crosses the moument is excluded from the scheduling but
the ground beneath it is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21014
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
