Rough Crag prehistoric cairnfield, funerary cairn and a linear boundary 1000m ENE of Woodend Bridge

Reasons for Designation

The Cumbrian uplands comprise large areas of remote mountainous terrain, much of which is largely open fellside. As a result of archaeological surveys between 1980 and 1990 within the Lake District National Park, these fells have become one of the best recorded upland areas in England. On the open fells there is sufficient well preserved and understood evidence over extensive areas for human exploitation of these uplands from the Neolithic to the post- medieval period. On the enclosed land and within forestry the archaeological remains are fragmentary, but they survive sufficiently well to show that human activity extended beyond the confines of the open fells. Bronze Age activity accounts for the most extensive use of the area, and evidence for it includes some of the largest and best preserved field systems and cairn fields in England, as well as settlement sites, numerous burial monuments, stone circles and other ceremonial remains. Taken together, their remains can provide a detailed insight into life in the later prehistoric period. Of additional importance is the well-preserved and often visible relationship between the remains of earlier and later periods, since this provides an understanding of changes in land use through time. Because of their rarity in a national context, excellent state of preservation and inter-connections, most prehistoric monuments on the Lake District fells will be identified as nationally important.

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 land surface to improve its use for agriculture, and on occasion their distribution pattern can be seen to define field plots. They were constructed from the Neolithic period (from about 3400BC) although the majority of examples appear to be the result of field clearance which began during the Bronze Age (2000-700BC). 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. Rough Crag prehistoric cairnfield, funerary cairn and linear boundary 1000m ENE of Woodend Bridge, survives well and forms part of a well-preserved prehistoric landscape extending along the fellsides of south west Cumbria. In conjunction with a wide range of other prehistoric remains in the vicinity the monument represents evidence of long term management and exploitation of this area in prehistoric times.

Details

The monument includes Rough Crag prehistoric cairnfield, funerary cairn and a linear boundary 1000m ENE of Woodend Bridge. It is located on sloping ground on the south east and east sides of Rough Crag and represents Bronze Age exploitation of this landscape. The cairnfield includes over 50 circular and oval-shaped clearance cairns up to 0.5m high. The circular cairns measure between 1.5m and 5.7m in diameter while the oval-shaped cairns measure between 3.2m and 6.2m long by 2m and 4.3m wide. Six of these cairns form an alignment marking the north east edge of the cairnfield. Running through the cairnfield on a north east-south west alignment is a linear boundary consisting of the lower courses of two stone walls, both of which are aligned on a large funerary cairn. The eastern length of wall is approximately 135m long with a gap suggesting a gateway or entrance at its mid-point, while the western length of wall runs downhill from the funerary cairn for approximately 265m and is aligned upon a prominent funerary cairn about 1.1km to the south west. This western length of wall also has a gateway or entrance situated about two thirds of the way down its length from the funerary cairn. These walls are interpreted as part of a major prehistoric boundary, seemingly between Dunnerdale to the south and the plateau between Barnscar and Birkerthwaite to the north. This boundary lies less than 300m south of the current boundary between Ulpha and Birker Fells, itself a parish and land boundary of considerable antiquity. The funerary cairn is located at SD18809661 and is the largest cairn in the cairnfield. It consists of an oval-shaped mound of stones measuring 12.9m by 9.9m and up to 1m high which is surrounded by a kerb of boulders. A small modern cairn has been constructed on the prehistoric cairn's summit.

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:

34968

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Quartermaine, J, Leech, R H, Upland Settlement of the Lake District: Result of Recent Surveys, (1997), 74-85
Leech, R H, Ulpha Fell Survey Catalogue, (1983)

End of official list entry

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