Details

The monument includes the remains of four settlements of Romano-British date
and a field system containing areas of cord rig cultivation, situated across
an extensive area of gently sloping moorland. The monument is divided into
two areas. The first and most easterly settlement consists of a
sub-rectangular enclosure which measures a maximum of 15m across within an
outer bank of stone and earth 2m to 3m wide standing to a maximum height of
1m. Abutting the enclosure wall in the north west there are the foundations
of a double walled circular stone founded house 7.5m in diameter with an
entrance in the north east wall giving access into the larger enclosure. There
is an entrance through the eastern wall of the main enclosure. These remains
conform to a type of Romano-British settlement known elsewhere in the area
where one or more circular houses have entrances which give direct access into
a large walled enclosure or forecourt. Some 310m north east of this
settlement, are the remains of a second settlement of Romano-British date.
This is visible as a sub-rectangular enclosure measuring 20m north west to
south east by 21m, within a stony bank 3.5m wide and standing to a maximum
height of 1m. There is an entrance through the south eastern wall of the
enclosure and within the interior there is a single stone founded circular
hut-circle 7.5m in diameter situated against the enclosure wall in the north
west corner. A second hut-circle situated 7m north east of the enclosure
measures 5.5m in diameter and has an entrance through its south wall. What are
thought to be the remains of a third enclosure are situated 240m north east of
the second on a slight plateau above steep slopes to the north. This
enclosure, circular in shape measures 17m in diameter within low stony walls
standing to a maximum height of 1m and up to 3m wide where they have become
spread. In the north east corner of the enclosure there is a raised platform
10m in diameter. A fourth settlement is situated 480m west of the third in a
slight hollow on a south east facing slope. The settlement consists of a
sub-rectangular enclosure measuring 30m north west to south east by 19m
containing the remains of at least four stone founded circular houses. The
four houses range in diameter from 5m to 9m and are thought to have given
direct access into the enclosure.

Surrounding and in between the four settlements there is an extensive field
system which consists of low stony banks on average 0.5m wide and standing to
a height of 0.3m. The banks which are a maximum length of 330m, generally run
from north to south and divide the area into large fields. Within the field
system there are well preserved areas of prehistoric cultivation known as
cord rig. The cord rig cultivation is visible on aerial photographs as a
series of narrow, straight rigs and is visible on the ground as slight
earthworks on average 1.4m wide between the centres of the furrows. Much of
the cord rig, which runs parallel to the field walls, appears to be contained
within the field system suggesting that some areas of cultivation are
contemporary with it. In other areas, however, the cord rig cultivation
extends over some of the field walls. The second area encloses an outlying
block of cord rig associated with that to the north.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

In Cumbria and Northumberland several distinctive types of native settlements
dating to the Roman period have been identified. The majority were small, non-
defensive, enclosed homesteads or farms. In many areas they were of stone
construction, although in the coastal lowlands timber-built variants were also
common. In much of Northumberland, especially in the Cheviots, the enclosures
were curvilinear in form. Further south a rectangular form was more common.
Elsewhere, especially near the Scottish border, another type occurs where the
settlement enclosure was `scooped' into the hillslope. Frequently the
enclosures reveal a regularity and similarity of internal layout. The standard
layout included one or more stone round-houses situated towards the rear of
the enclosure, facing the single entranceway. In front of the houses were
pathways and small enclosed yards. Homesteads normally had only one or two
houses, but larger enclosures could contain as many as six. At some sites the
settlement appears to have grown, often with houses spilling out of the main
enclosure and clustered around it. At these sites up to 30 houses may be
found. In the Cumbrian uplands the settlements were of less regimented form
and unenclosed clusters of houses of broadly contemporary date are also known.
These homesteads were being constructed and used by non-Roman natives
throughout the period of the Roman occupation. Their origins lie in settlement
forms developed before the arrival of the Romans. These homesteads are common
throughout the uplands where they frequently survive as well-preserved
earthworks. In lowland coastal areas they were also originally common,
although there they can frequently only be located through aerial photography.
All homestead sites which survive substantially intact will normally be
identified as nationally important.

A regular aggregate field system is a group of regularly defined fields of
prehistoric or Roman date, laid out in a block or blocks which lie
approximately at right angles to each other, usually with a settlement as a
focal point. Fields are generally square or rectangular, and the blocks give
an ordered if, irregular, shape to the field system as a whole. They are
characteristically extensive monuments; the number of individual fields varies
from two to 50 but this is, at least in part, a reflection of bias in the
archaeological record rather than the true extent of such land divisions
during their period of use, as continued land-use has often obliterated traces
of the full extent of such field systems. The fields were the primary unit of
production in a mixed farming economy, incorporating pastoral, arable and
horticultural elements. As a rare monument type which provide an insight into
land division and agricultural practice during their period of use, all well
preserved examples will normally be identified as nationally important.

Cord rig cultivation is visible as a series of narrow ridges and furrows no
more than 1.4m across between the centres of furrows. It is frequently
arranged in fields with formal boundaries but it also occurs in smaller,
irregular unenclosed plots varying between 30 to 60 square metres in size. It
can be fragmentary or more extensive, often extending over considerable areas
and it is often found in association with a range of prehistoric settlement
forms and with prehistoric field systems. It generally survives as a series of
slight earthworks and it is frequently first discovered on aerial photographs,
but it has also been identified by excavation as a series of ard marks beneath
several parts of Hadrian's Wall. The evidence of excavation and the study of
associated monuments demonstrates that cord rig cultivation spans the period
from the Bronze Age through to the Roman period. Cord rig cultivation is known
throughout the Border areas of England and Scotland but it is a marked feature
of the upland margins. The discovery of cord rig cultivation is of
considerable importance for the analysis of prehistoric settlement and
agriculture; all well preserved examples, particularly where they are found
with prehistoric or Romano-British settlements, will normally merit statutory
protection.

The extensive settlement and agricultural remains on Fairney Cleugh are very
well preserved and retain significant archaeological deposits. The cord rig
field system is one of the most extensive field systems in the county. Taken
together with the associated settlement remains it will add greatly to our
knowledge and understanding of prehistoric and Romano-British settlement and
farming.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Charlton, D B, Day, J C, An Archaeological Survey of the MOD Training Area, Otterburn, (1977)
Charlton, D B, Day, J C, An Archaeological Survey of the MOD Training Area, Otterburn, (1977)
Gates, T, Air Photography and the Archaeology of Otterburn Training Area, (1995), unpubld
Gates, T, Air Photography and the Archaeology of Otterburn Training Area, (1995)
Charlton, D B, Day, J C, 'Archaeologia Aeliana 5 ser 6' in Excavation and Field Survey in Upper Redesdale, (1978), 61-86
Topping, P, 'Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society' in Early Cultivation in Northumberland And The Borders, (1989), 161-180
Other
Gates T, TMG 13968/32-49, (1995)
Gates T, TMG 13968/32-8, (1995)
Gates T, TMG 13968/47-8,
Neg No SF 1701/32-36, Gates, T, Fairnry Cleugh 2 (1?), (1978)
NY 89 NE 19,
NY 89 NE 20,
NY89NE 17,
NY89NE 19,
TMG 13968/42-9, (1995)

Source: Historic England