Shieling 210m north of Irthing Head

Reasons for Designation

Shielings are small seasonally occupied huts which were built to provide shelter for herdsmen who tended animals grazing summer pasture on upland or marshland. These huts reflect a system called transhumance, whereby stock was moved in spring from lowland pasture around the permanently occupied farms to communal upland grazing during the warmer summer months. Settlement patterns reflecting transhumance are known from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) onwards. However, the construction of herdsmen's huts in a form distinctive from the normal dwelling houses of farms, only appears from the early medieval period onwards (from AD 450), when the practice of transhumance is also known from documentary sources and, notably, place-name studies. Their construction appears to cease at the end of the 16th century. Shielings vary in size but are commonly small and may occur singly or in groups. They have a simple sub- rectangular or ovoid plan normally defined by drystone walling, although occasional turf-built structures are known, and the huts are sometimes surrounded by a ditch. Most examples have a single undivided interior but two roomed examples are known. Some examples have adjacent ancillary structures, such as pens, and may be associated with a midden. Some are also contained within a small ovoid enclosure. Shielings are reasonably common in the uplands but frequently represent the only evidence for medieval settlement and farming practice here. Those examples which survive well and which help illustrate medieval land use in an area are considered to be nationally important.

The shieling near Irthing Head is reasonably well preserved and retains significant archaeological deposits. It is one of a group of shielings situated along the River Irthing and its tributaries which taken together will add greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the wider Border settlement and economy during this period.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a shieling of medieval date situated on level ground on the edge of the Gair Burn and orientated north west to south east. The shieling is visible as the foundations of a rectangular dry stone building measuring 5.5m by 3.5m. It is bounded by walls 0.7m wide which stand to a maximum height of 0.5m. There are indications of a doorway through the eastern wall facing onto the riverside and a stone wall divides the shieling into two rooms of roughly equal size.

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:

25126

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Ramm, H G, Shielings and Bastles, (1970), 29

End of official list entry