Ewe Locks Romano-British settlement, Romano-British farmstead and two medieval shielings

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.

The monument is a good example of a small Romano-British native settlement and farmstead in close proximity. The earthworks survive well and preserve considerable detail of the layout of the site. It is one of a group of similar sites at the head of the Lyvennet valley and will contribute to the study of Romano-British settlement patterns in the area.

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.

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:

22477

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Higham, N, Jones, B, The Carvetti, (1985), 132-3
Alcock, L, Archaeologia Cambrensis in Gwyr Y Gogledd, Vol. CXXXII, (1983), 4
Collingwood, R G, Trans Cumb & West Antiq & Arch Soc. New Ser. in Prehistoric Settlements in Crosby Ravensworth, (1933), 209
Collingwood, R G, Trans Cumb & West Antiq & Arch Soc. New Ser. in Prehistoric Settlements in Crosby Ravensworth, (1933), 207-9

Other
Schofield,A.J., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Shielings, (1989)
Schofield,A.J., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Shielings, (1989)
RCHME, Westmorland, (1936)

End of official list entry

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