Reasons for Designation
Stone hut circles and hut circle settlements were the dwelling places of
prehistoric farmers. Most date from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The stone-
based round-houses consist of low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor
area; the remains of the turf, thatch or heather roofs are not preserved. The
huts may occur singly or in small or large groups and may lie in the open or
be enclosed by a bank of earth or stone. Frequently traces of their associated
field systems may be found immediately around them. These may be indicated by
areas of clearance cairns and/or the remains of field walls and other
enclosures. The longevity of use of hut circle settlements and their
relationship with other monument types provides 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.
Regular aggregate field systems date from the Bronze Age to the end of the
fifth century AD and comprise a discrete block of fields orientated in roughly
the same direction, with the field boundaries laid out along two axes set out
and right angles to each other. The settlements or farmsteads from which
people utilised the fields are usually situated close to or within the field
system. The majority of regular aggregate field systems are thought to have
been used mainly for crop production although rotation may also have been
practiced in a mixed farming economy. They represent a coherent economic unit
often utilised for long periods and can thus provide important information
about developments in agricultural practices and broader patterns of social,
cultural and environmental change over several centuries.
Within the upland landscape of Cumbria there are many discrete plots of land,
or enclosures, enclosed by stone walls or banks of stone and earth, most of
which date to the Bronze Age. They were constructed as stock pens or as
protected areas for crop growing. Their size and form may therefore vary
depending upon their function. Their variation in form, longevity and relation
to other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of
social organisations and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities.
Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age. They
were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These
burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called
cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Their considerable
variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
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. The construction of
herdsman's huts in a form distinctive from the normal dwelling houses of
farms only appears from the early medieval period onwards (about AD 450), and
their construction appears to cease at the end of the 16th century. Shielings
have a simple sub-rectangular or ovoid plan normally defined by drystone
walling. Most have a single undivided interior but two-roomed examples are
known. They 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 help illustrate medieval land use in an area
are considered to be nationally important.
Trundale Gill prehistoric stone hut circle settlement, its associated regular
aggregate field system, enclosures and round cairn, survive well and represent
a complex and diverse group of prehistoric monument classes. Together these
monuments represent evidence of long term management and exploitation of the
landscape and indicate the importance of this area in prehistoric times and
the diversity of monument classes to be found here. Additionally the three
medieval shielings survive well and will add greatly to our knowledge and
understanding of settlement patterns and the economy during the medieval
period.
Details
The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Trundale Gill
prehistoric stone hut circle settlement, an associated regular aggregate field
system, two enclosures, one of which has an attached stone hut circle, a round
cairn, and three medieval shielings. It is located on a wide gently-sloping
hillside terrace on the north east slopes of Murton Pike above a steep
declivity to Trundale Gill. The prehistoric stone hut circle settlement
includes a sub-oval stone-walled enclosure measuring approximately 75m by 65m
internally within which are the remains of four hut circles and a small
enclosure. Most of these features are situated against the internal wall on
the enclosure's northern side; these comprise, from west to east, faint traces
of a stone hut circle 3.5m in diameter, a stone hut circle mutilated by
conversion into a shooting butt, a `D'-shaped small enclosure measuring 7m by
5m, and a stone hut circle 4m in diameter. Nearby, towards the centre of the
settlement, there is a circular hut platform 8m in diameter terraced into the
hillslope. A hollow way approximately 30m long leads down the hillslope to an
entrance on the settlement's eastern side, while an entrance on the western
side gives access from an associated regular aggregate field system.
Immediately to the north west of the settlement enclosure there is an
irregularly-shaped area defined by a ribbon of natural scree on one side, the
steep slope down to Trundale Gill on another side, and a curvilinear stone
wall linking the settlement with a curvilinear enclosure and associated hut
circle on the third side. This area has been largely cleared of stone, which
has been thrown over the edge of the slope, and is considered to be a
prehistoric field. This field system extends to the south west where there are
a further four sub-rectangular fields, the largest measuring approximately 50m
by 40m. The curvilinear prehistoric enclosure and associated hut circle is
situated close to the edge of the slope above Trundale Gill. The enclosure has
a substantial stone wall up to 4m wide and 1m high; internally there is a
considerable amount of surface stone, suggesting that at some stage it formed
a dumping ground for stone clearance from the field immediately to its south
east. Outside the south west corner of the enclosure, and attached to the
enclosure's wall, is a stone hut circle 8m in diameter. A second curvilinear
enclosure is located south of the prehistoric settlement enclosure. It
consists of a semi-circular stone wall approximately 60m long with an entrance
on the east side and traces of a small rectangular structure some 4m by 2m
built against the internal wall. On a local high point between this enclosure
and the field system, and overlooking the entire monument, there is a round
cairn 5m in diameter by 0.3m high surrounded by a shallow ditch. That this
area was used again in medieval times is attested by the presence of three
shielings, two of which have been built against the prehistoric stone hut
circle settlement wall, while the third lies close to the hut circle attached
to the prehistoric enclosure. This latter shieling has two rooms and measures
11m by 4.5m. The two shielings within the earlier hut circle settlement are
situated close to the settlement's entrances; the one adjacent to the west
entrance has two rooms and measures 8.5m by 5m while the one close to the east
entrance has a single room and measures approximately 9m by 5m.
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.
