Two Romano-British enclosed settlements and an associated regular aggregate field system at Waitby Intake

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.

Regular aggregate field systems are a group of regularly defined fields laid out in a block or blocks which lie approximately at right angles to each other, usually with a settlement at a focal point. They are the most common form of land division recognised in Roman Britain and examples are known to have been in use from the first to the fifth century AD. Many recorded examples were a continuation or adaptation of existing pre-Roman Iron Age field systems and were the primary units of production in a mixed farming economy, incorporating pastoral, arable and horticultural elements. Regular aggregate field systems are an important element of the existing landscape and are representative of farming practices over a long period. A substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Despite damage to part of the monument by construction of a railway track and the presence of some minor localised quarrying, the two Romano-British enclosed settlements and the associated regular aggregate field system survive reasonably well. The settlements preserve considerable detail of their layout, are two of a number of similar monuments located on the limestone hills of east Cumbria, and will facilitate any further study of Romano-British settlement patterns in the area. Additionally the south eastern settlement is considered to include structural elements dating to the early medieval period and is thus a rare example in Cumbria of a Romano-British settlement displaying reuse or continuity of use beyond the Roman period. The field system is clearly visible as a series of earthwork features and its articulation with the settlements provides important evidence of carefully planned organisation of the landscape and landholding.

Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of two Romano-British enclosed settlements and an associated regular aggregate field system situated at Waitby Intake 650m north west of the covered reservoir on Wiseber Hill. The monument is in two areas of protection separated by a railway line. The north western settlement consists of a large sub-rectangular enclosure subdivided into a number of smaller enclosures within which are traces of four hut circles. The south eastern settlement is curvilinear in form and contains a number of rectangular and sub-rectangular enclosures within which are traces of hut circles and rectangular structures. The associated field system lies on three sides of the south eastern settlement. The north western settlement consists of a cluster of eight enclosures bounded by a turf-covered stone wall up to 2m wide and 0.75m high. There is an entrance on the western side leading into a rectangular enclosure from where there is access into another enclosure which contains a hut circle in its north western corner. Immediately to the east is the largest enclosure of this cluster; it contains two hut circles adjacent to its north and east walls, and a small rectangular enclosure interpreted as a stock pen in its north western corner. Of the other small enclosures within this complex two contain entrances and one has traces of a hut circle. The south eastern settlement has been partly destroyed by the railway but in its present form consists of a cluster of four enclosures - three to the north of the railway cutting, one to the south. It has walls of similar dimensions to the north western settlement and an entrance on its eastern side which leads into a rectangular enclosure. The enclosure immediately to the north of this contains traces of three hut circles and a rectangular building. Another rectangular building lies in the next enclosure to the west, while a third is located adjacent to the outside of the northern wall of the settlement. The enclosure belonging to this settlement to the south of the railway has an entrance in its eastern side. The part of the field system to the north of the south eastern settlement includes three fields separated by lynchets that become banks at their northern ends where they abut a small limestone scar. Two fields separated by a trackway lie to the south of this settlement while banks indicate that three fields, now partly destroyed by the railway, lie on sloping ground to the west of the settlement. Limited excavation of the north western settlement in 1967 found pottery dated to the fourth century AD while the presence of rectangular structures within the south eastern settlement has been interpreted as indicating reuse of the site during the post-Roman/early medieval period. All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features 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:

27811

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Higham, N, Jones, N, Archaeological Journal in Frontiers, Forts and Farmers, Vol. 132, (1975), 41
Roberts, B K, Archaeological Journal in Some Relict Landscapes in Westmorland: A Reconsideration, (1993), 433-55
Roberts, B K, Archaeological Journal in Some Relict Landscapes in Westmorland: A Reconsideration, (1993), 433-55
Webster, R A, Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser. in Excavation of a Romano-British settlement at Waitby, Westmorland, (1972), 66-73
Webster, R A, Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser. in Excavation of a Romano-British settlement at Waitby, Westmorland, (1972), 66-73

Other
RCHME, Westmorland, (1936)

End of official list entry

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