Roman fort and prehistoric enclosed settlement 400m west of Carkin Moor Farm

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1015418

Date first listed: 14-Jul-1966

Date of most recent amendment: 14-Feb-1997

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference: NZ 16151 08380, NZ 16163 08240

Reasons for Designation

Roman forts served as permanent bases for auxiliary units of the Roman Army. In outline they were straight sided rectangular enclosures with rounded corners, defined by a single rampart of turf, puddled clay or earth with one or more outer ditches. Some forts had separately defended, subsidiary enclosures or annexes, allowing additional storage space or for the accommodation of troops and convoys in transit. Although built and used throughout the Roman period, the majority of forts were constructed between the mid first and mid second centuries AD. Some were only used for short periods of time but others were occupied for extended periods on a more or less permanent basis. In the earlier forts, timber was used for gateways, towers and breastworks. From the beginning of the second century AD there was a gradual replacement of timber with stone. Roman forts are rare nationally and are extremely rare south of the Severn Trent line. As one of a small group of Roman military monuments, which are important in representing army strategy and therefore government policy, forts are of particular significance to our understanding of the period. All Roman forts with surviving archaeological potential are considered to be nationally important.

Rectangular prehistoric enclosures are a discrete area of land given over to a particular purpose. They often served as protected areas for crop growing or as stock pens although in this area of northern England monuments of this nature have also been found to enclose circular domestic buildings and associated agricultural structures. The size and form of enclosures may vary depending on their particular function. Their variation in form and relationship to other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. Although partly disturbed, the Roman fort still survives in places as an earthwork and elsewhere significant archaeological remains will be preserved below ground. Important information about the internal arrangements will be preserved and as part of a network of forts in the north of England the monument offers scope for the study of the wider Roman military and administrative occupation of Britain. The prehistoric enclosure is clearly visible on aerial photographs and the site will retain evidence of how and when it was used and in particular its relationship with the adjacent fort.

Details

The monument includes a Roman fort, an adjacent prehistoric enclosed settlement and the intervening archaeologically sensitive area situated on Carkin Moor at the east end of Teesdale. The fort lies on the summit of a small flat-topped hill and is bisected in a deep cutting by the A66, a former Roman road, which runs east-west across the Pennines. The Roman fort is one of a series of Roman military establishments along this route. The fort is rectangular in shape and measures 150m north east to south west by 132m north west to south east. The north east corner of the fort survives as a raised platform up to 2m high in the field to the north of the road. The north angle of the fort and traces of an external ditch are clearly visible as earthworks in the plantation north of the road. To the south of the road the fort no longer survives as an upstanding earthwork although its extent is clearly visible on aerial photographs. Extensive remains will survive here beneath the modern ground surface. The prehistoric enclosed settlement lies 200m north west of the fort. Although it no longer survives as an earthwork it is clearly visible on aerial photographs. The enclosure is rectangular in shape and measures 100m by 75m. There are traces of internal features visible within it which include traces of one side of a smaller enclosure parallel with the western side. There are several other similar enclosures identified by aerial photography in north east England. Excavations at one such site 3km to the south east demonstrated it to be an Iron Age farmstead with circular buildings within the enclosure. The example at Carkin Moor would have been broadly similar. All modern fences and walls are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath them is included.

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: 28289

Legacy System: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Fitts, R L , 'Durham Archaeological Journal' in An Iron Age Farmstead at Rock Castle Gilling West North Yorks, , Vol. VOL 10, (1994), 13-42
Other
CUC BB22, DP 13 W56, W59,
Yorkshire Dales Nat Park SMR/RCHME MORPH data,

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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.