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.
Details
The monument includes a cairnfield situated on the narrow sandstone ridge
between Stockland Beck and Hipperley Beck, in the south eastern part of
Langdale Forest.
The cairnfield consists of at least 185 cairns, many of them well-defined,
distributed across the very gentle south east facing slope of the ridge,
largely between the 150m and 190m contours. There are two dense concentrations
of cairns towards the northern end of the cairnfield and four more dispersed
groups; two at the southern end of the ridge and one each at the western and
northern extremities of the cairnfield. The cairns are sub-circular mounds
constructed from medium-sized stones and small boulders, although there are
one or two which are more elongated in shape. Some are built around large
erratic boulders. Most are between 3m and 5m in diameter, although there are a
few smaller and larger. They stand between 0.3m to 0.6m high. In a few places
the cairns have been damaged by forestry ploughing and some of these have been
reduced in height to less than 0.3m. The majority are field clearance cairns
which are the result of clearing the ground to improve it for agriculture, but
some of the larger cairns were also used as burial mounds. Interspersed
between the cairns in the northern concentrations, traces of tumbled walling
are visible. These are interpreted as part of the field systems which were in
use with the clearance cairns.
The cairnfield lies in an area where there are many prehistoric burial
monuments as well as further field systems and clearance cairns.
The surface of the gravelled forestry track which runs in a north west to
south east direction through the western edge of the cairnfield is excluded
from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
34561
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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 Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
