Reasons for Designation
In a densely settled and highly developed country such as England, the
landscapes of all but the most bleak mountain summits are, to varying degrees,
the product of centuries and millennia of human development. Except in areas
today considered to be marginal, most traces of the earliest stages in this
process have been erased or modified by later development and only survive in
a fragmentary manner. The prehistoric settlement remains that survive beyond
the margins of more recent cultivation in upland areas such as the Cheviots
provide a rare opportunity to recognise the prehistoric shape of the
landscape.
The Breamish Valley is one of the main valleys draining the Cheviot Massif.
Because of comprehensive field survey during the 1980s, it is also one of the
best recorded upland areas in England. The field evidence for human activity
within the valley is diverse and spans at least five millennia from the
Neolithic to the post-medieval period. Of particular importance are the well-
preserved and extensive upland prehistoric remains, including settlements,
field systems and cairnfields. On the enclosed land within the valley,
archaeological remains are more fragmentary, but they survive sufficiently
well to show that human activity extended below what is now open fell land.
Due to excellent state of survival, their archaeological integrity, and their
rarity in a national context, most recorded prehistoric and later monuments
within the Breamish Valley will be identified as nationally important.
Unenclosed hut circle settlements were the dwelling places of prehistoric
farmers. The hut circles take a variety of forms. Some are stone based and are
visible as low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area. Others were
timber constructions and only the shallow groove in which the timber uprights
used in the wall construction stood can now be identified; this may survive as
a slight earthwork feature or may be visible on aerial photographs. Some can
only be identified by the artificial earthwork platforms created as level
stances for the houses. The number of houses in a settlement varies between
one and twelve. In areas where they were constructed on hillslopes the
platforms on which the houses stood are commonly arrayed in tiers along the
contour of the slope. Several settlements have been shown to be associated
with organised field plots, the fields being defined by low stony banks or
indicated by groups of clearance cairns. Many unenclosed settlements have been
shown to date to the Bronze Age but it is also clear that they were still
being constructed and used in the Early Iron Age. Their longevity of use and
their relationship with other monument types provides important information on
the diversity of social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric
communities.
Irregular aggregate field systems date from the Bronze Age (2000-700 BC) to
the end of the fifth century AD. They usually cover large areas and comprise a
collection of contiguous field plots which are irregular in shape and size and
which accreted around a focal point, usually a settlement. Individual fields
are generally small and fall within the 0.2ha-0.6ha range and their individual
shape and size was the result of local factors such as topography and short
term agricultural requirements. The field boundaries, which follow straight or
sinuous courses, are usually dry stone walls, with lynchets being a feature on
sloping ground. Component features common to most systems include entrances
and occasionally trackways.
Cairnfields are concentrations of cairns sited in close proximity to one
another. They 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.
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
during the Bronze Age.
Despite having been partially excavated, the unenclosed settlement on Standrop
Rigg survives well. The excavation in 1979 was limited to two of the houses
and sufficient of the settlement remains to provide important information
about the manner of its construction and the nature and length of its
occupation. The site will contain deposits suitable for radiocarbon dating
which will help to establish a chronology for such sites in the area. The
associated field system and cairnfield survive well and will contribute to our
understanding of the nature and longevity of small scale clearance and
agricultural exploitation during the Bronze Age. The settlement and
agricultural remains on Standrop Rigg represent one of the most elevated
permanent settlements in Northumberland, and are thought to mark the limit of
Bronze Age expansion into the interior of the uplands. Taken together with the
contemporary remains at Linhope Burn, they will add greatly to our knowledge
and understanding of Bronze Age settlement and agriculture.
Details
The monument includes the known extent of the upstanding and buried remains of
an unenclosed settlement, an associated irregular aggregate field system and a
cairnfield of Bronze Age date, situated immediately north of the Linhope Burn
on the lower south east facing slopes of Great Standrop. The adjacent
unenclosed settlement and field system near Linhope Burn, are the subject of a
separate scheduling.
The unenclosed settlement is located at high altitude and is considered to be
one of the most elevated settlements in the county. It contains the dispersed
remains of up to five circular houses. Three of these houses are visible as
slightly raised circular platforms ranging from 7m to 10m in diameter. The
fourth and most prominent house is visible as a circular bank of stone and
rubble some 3m wide and 0.7m high enclosing a space 9m in diameter. This house
was excavated in 1979; the remains of an internal timber building were
discovered with an outer ring of stakes forming a wattle screen and internal
postholes which held substantial roof supports. A small stone hearth was
placed slightly off centre and two shallow pits were also found. Pieces of
hand made pottery, some decorated with scored lines, were discovered within
the house. Radiocarbon dates recovered from charcoal associated with one of
the pits suggest activity at the site in the early Bronze Age, although the
exact date of occupation of the house remains uncertain. The fifth house,
which is no longer visible as an upstanding feature, was also excavated in
1979 and its lower parts remain below the surface of the ground. This house
was shown to consist of a circular bank of stones and boulders 2.5m wide and
0.5m high within which there was a series of stake holes and postholes, a
hearth and a pit. The main occupation of this house was associated with a
radiocarbon date from the early Iron Age. Several pieces of decorated pottery,
two fragments from a quern stone and several other stone tools interpreted as
hand rubbers were also recovered. The unenclosed settlement is situated with a
prehistoric field system some 2.75ha in extent. The field system is visible as
the remains of at least eleven irregularly shaped fields, enclosed either by
low rubble walls standing to a maximum height of 0.5m or by slight terraces
and lynchets. The individual field plots are on average 0.2ha. Several
entrances to the fields are visible as gaps through some of the boundaries.
The cairnfield is visible as at least 12 roughly shaped circular clearance
cairns scattered across the field system. Most of the field plots contain one
or two cairns, though no individual plot contains more than two. The cairns
vary in size from 2m to 6m across and are on average 0.5m high. They represent
a phase of land clearance prior to agricultural activity and are thought to be
the earliest remains at the site.
The fence line which crosses the southern end of the site is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath this feature 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.
