Details

The monument includes a Romano-British settlement and trackway located on the
summit of a ridge of sand and gravel known as Ewanrigg. The site is visible as
crop marks on aerial photographs which highlight features such as infilled
ditches. The aerial photographs show a subcircular enclosure measuring
approximately 80m by 70m which is situated within a larger oval enclosure
measuring approximately 120m by 85m. There are entrances on the east and west
sides of the enclosures and from the former the aerial photographs show the
infilled side ditches of a trackway running in a south eastern direction for
c.110m. To the north of the enclosures the aerial photographs show a linear
feature interpreted as a field boundary. Limited excavations undertaken during
the 1950s and 1980s found that the inner enclosure was defended by a
substantial ditch measuring 4.3m wide by 1.6m deep. On the inside of the ditch
were traces of a stone bank. The larger outer enclosure was defended by a
ditch measuring 3m wide by 1.2m deep. Pottery found during these excavations
indicated that the settlement was occupied during the fourth century AD.
All modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling but the ground
beneath them 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.

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.

Romano-British trackways are unmetalled routeways, of varying length,
maintained as a means of access or communication by prolonged use. They appear
as either broad depressions crossing large tracts of land and following the
crests of escarpments, or as short straight alignments between parallel
ditches or lynchets. They survive in the form of a series of low earthworks,
parallel crop/soil marks, hollow ways, modern footpaths and hedgerows.
Trackways provide important information on the way in which the wider
landscape was used.
The Romano-British settlement and trackway at Ewanrigg survive reasonably well
despite the absence of any upstanding earthworks. Limited excavation located
fourth century AD pottery and evidence for the defensive arrangements at this
site, and further evidence of this nature will exist. The monument is one of a
number of similar sites identified by aerial photography in the Solway Plain
area in recent years and it will contribute to any further study of Romano-
British settlement patterns in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Bewley, R H, 'Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Excavations On Two Crop-Mark Sites In The Solway Plain 1986-8, , Vol. XCII, (1992), 23-47
Bewley, R H, 'Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society' in Excavation of a Bronze Age Cemetery at Ewanrigg, Maryport, , Vol. 58, (1992), 325-54
Blake, B, 'Trans Cumb and West Antiq and Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Excavation Of Native (Iron Age) Sites In Cumberland 1956-8, , Vol. LIX, (1960), 1-14
Other
AP , Manchester University,
AP Nos CCC2019M, 29, 31, 32, Cumbria County Council,
AP Nos RB 108, 15 & 16, Bewley, RH,

Source: Historic England