Cairnfield in Hagg Wood, Honley, 375m south east of Upper Hagg

Reasons for Designation

Cairnfields are concentrations of cairns sited in close proximity to one another. They often consist largely of clearance cairns, built with stone cleared from the surrounding landsurface to improve its use for agriculture, and on occasion their distribution pattern can be seen to define field plots. However, funerary cairns are also frequently incorporated, although without excavation it may be impossible to determine which cairns contain burials. Clearance cairns were constructed from the Neolithic period (from c.3400 BC), although the majority of examples appear to be the result of field clearance which began during the earlier Bronze Age and continued into the later Bronze Age (2000-700 BC). The considerable longevity and variation in the size, content and associations of cairnfields provide important information on the development of land use and agricultural practices. Cairnfields also retain information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation during the prehistoric period.

The cairnfield in Hagg Wood survives well and will retain important archaeological information including its relationship to the settlement associated with it. It is similar to two other cairnfields in woods in the Honley area.

Details

The monument includes a cairnfield in Hagg Wood, Honley. It is situated at the end of a plateau. There are nine cairns, between 3m and 8m in diameter, and up to 0.6m high. Towards the southern end of the cairnfield are two parallel rubble banks which run approximately south east-north west, from the scarp at the edge of the plateau to the west edge of the wood. The rubble banks are about 3m wide and up to 0.3m high. The cairnfield also includes two circular features which may be hut circles. The southern of these is a slight hollow with a level base about 12m in diameter. The northern one is largely obscured by holly trees, but is visible as a rubble bank where it is crossed by a path at the northern end of the cairnfield.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

31504

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Huddersfield Archaeology Society Bulletin in Huddersfield Archaeology Society Bulletin, Vol. 13, (1963)

End of official list entry

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