Cat Crag prehistoric settlement (Ingram)
NT 972171. Settlement of unenclosed round houses at Cat Crag. (1)
NT 972 171. Occupying a series of S or SE facing terraces below the steep rocky slopes of Long Crag, and between 330 m and 360 m OD, is an unenclosed settlement comprising five stone-built hut circles [NT 9717/23-27] within a field system [NT 9717/33-36]. There are also four enclosures [NT 9717/28-31 (dealt with separately)] some of which appear to be prehistoric, and a rectangular medieval building [see NT 9717/32 (numbered separately)].
With the exception of no 27 all the hut circles have been levelled into the base of natural rocky scarps and in the cases of 24 and 26 stone debris from the slopes above has intruded into the interiors obscuring some details. The walls have tumbled and survive as banks, 1.2 m-1.5 m wide and up to 0.5 m high, overgrown with turf and bracken. In 23, the best-preserved example, and 26 and 27, the inner faces are crudely constructed of boulders up to 0.5 m high which are exposed intermittently, and many more facing stones are displaced. There is an entrance visible in the SE of 23 and in the E of 27; in the other examples this feature is no longer identifiable. The internal measurements are as follows:-
23 (NT 9713 1715) 5.1 m in diameter
24 (NT 9718 1716) 4.0 m in diameter
25 (NT 9724 1717) 6.0 m across; only the N backscarp survives
26 (NT 9722 1710) 5.3 m in diameter
27 (NT 9727 1717) 5.0 m in diameter; situated on a gently-sloping terrace.
Associated cultivation remains are confined to the terraces, stones having been cleared onto the natural scarps between the terraces, or into scattered clearance cairns no more than 4.0 m in diameter and 0.3 m high, though the largest example [NT 9717/33] is 7.0 m across and 0.5 m high. There are several field banks visible (34-36); no 34 appears to fringe a small field of irregular shape, 38 m x 30 m, whereas the others form no cohesive pattern. (2a)
NT 972 171. Occupying a series of S or SE facing terraces below the steep rocky slopes of Long Crag, and between 330 m and 360 m OD, is an unenclosed settlement comprising five stone-built hut circles [NT 9717/23-27] within a field system [NT 9717/33-36]. There are also four enclosures [NT 9717/28-31 (dealt with separately)] some of which appear to be prehistoric, and a rectangular medieval building [see NT 9717/32 (numbered separately)].
With the exception of no 27 all the hut circles have been levelled into the base of natural rocky scarps and in the cases of 24 and 26 stone debris from the slopes above has intruded into the interiors obscuring some details. The walls have tumbled and survive as banks, 1.2 m-1.5 m wide and up to 0.5 m high, overgrown with turf and bracken. In 23, the best-preserved example, and 26 and 27, the inner faces are crudely constructed of boulders up to 0.5 m high which are exposed intermittently, and many more facing stones are displaced. There is an entrance visible in the SE of 23 and in the E of 27; in the other examples this feature is no longer identifiable. The internal measurements are as follows:-
23 (NT 9713 1715) 5.1 m in diameter
24 (NT 9718 1716) 4.0 m in diameter
25 (NT 9724 1717) 6.0 m across; only the N backscarp survives
26 (NT 9722 1710) 5.3 m in diameter
27 (NT 9727 1717) 5.0 m in diameter; situated on a gently-sloping terrace.
Associated cultivation remains are confined to the terraces, stones having been cleared onto the natural scarps between the terraces, or into scattered clearance cairns no more than 4.0 m in diameter and 0.3 m high, though the largest example [NT 9717/33] is 7.0 m across and 0.5 m high. There are several field banks visible (34-36); no 34 appears to fringe a small field of irregular shape, 38 m x 30 m, whereas the others form no cohesive pattern. (2a)
N1306
MEASURED SURVEY, RCHME: SE Cheviots Project ; RCHME
HISTORIC AREA ASSESSMENT, Ingram Village Atlas (HISTORIC BERWICK VILLAGE ATLAS) ; The Archaeological Practice Ltd
HISTORIC AREA ASSESSMENT, Ingram Village Atlas (HISTORIC BERWICK VILLAGE ATLAS) ; The Archaeological Practice Ltd
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