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 a Romano-British settlement, a Romano-British farmstead,
and two medieval shielings located on virtually level ground north of Blea
Beck. The settlement and farmstead belong to a group of such sites
surrounding the head of the Lyvennet valley. The Romano-British settlement
includes an oval-shaped stone-walled enclosure containing two hut circles at
its south-east side that open on to a yard. The remainder of the oval
enclosure is sub-divided into three fields with the main entrance in the
north-easterly field. Adjoining the
south-western side of the oval enclosure is a rectangular enclosure measuring
c.48m by 44m that has an entrance on the eastern side and contains two stock
pens at its north-east corner together with faint traces of two circular huts
towards the centre. Sixty metres south of the enclosure is a Romano-British
farmstead that includes one hut circle and three small sub-rectangular fields.
There are traces of a stone wall running south from the rectangular enclosure
of the settlement, passing immediately to the west of the farmstead, and
continuing in a southerly direction for a short distance. Later occupation at
the site is attested by the existence of two medieval shielings, each
measuring about 6.1m by 4.5m internally, with walls made of boulders in a
double line standing on edge. They are located within the Romano-British
settlement at the north-east corner of the rectangular enclosure and adjacent
to the southern wall of the oval enclosure.
The Romano-British settlement and farmstead would have been in use during the
Roman occupation of the north. They lie within an area occupied by the
Carvetii tribe.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22477
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
