Prehistoric enclosure north of Little Pie, Burnmoor

Reasons for Designation

Within the upland landscape of Cumbria there are many discrete plots of land enclosed by stone walls or banks of stone and earth, most of which date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC), though earlier and later examples also exist. They were constructed as stock pens or as protected areas for crop growing and were sometimes subdivided to accommodate stock and hut circle dwellings for farmers and herdsmen. The size and form of enclosures may therefore vary depending upon their particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and relationship to other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The prehistoric enclosure north of Little Pie survives reasonably well and is a good example of this class of monument. An unusual aspect of this site is its use of a natural feature - the base of a crag - to form one side of the enclosure. It lies close to other prehistoric monuments and thus indicates the importance of this area in prehistoric times and the diversity of monument classes to be found here.

Details

The monument is a prehistoric enclosure occupying a gently sloping shelf on the fellside north of a rocky summit known as Little Pie. It is located at the south eastern end of a large area of open moorland known as Burnmoor which contains an abundance of prehistoric remains. The monument includes an irregularly-shaped enclosure having a boundary wall of largely turf and bracken covered stones and rubble which measures 0.75m - 2m wide and up to 0.3m high. On the south eastern side the boundary of the enclosure appears to have been formed by the base of a crag. The enclosure measures a maximum of 160m by 110m internally and contains an area of approximately 1.4ha.

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:

23694

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Leech, R H, The Lake District National Park Survey - Burnmoor, (1992), 9

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.