Details

The monument includes a Roman period native farmstead at the top of Holwick
Scars at Hind Gate, Upper Teesdale. The farmstead comprises a D-shaped
rubble walled hut attached to a small yard. A small rectangular structure
occupies the west corner of the yard.
The hut is 8m by 8m and has a rubble wall 2m wide and 0.3m high. The north
east wall of the hut is formed by the south west side of the yard. The yard is
trapezoidal and is 22m by 14m, with rubble walls 0.3m high. The north east
side of the yard is incomplete. The north west side is partly formed by a
small scar. The rectangular structure is 5m by 4m and is interpreted as a
small building.
A small heap of stones 4m in diameter and 0.4m high at the north east edge of
the site is interpreted as a clearance cairn.

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.

The Roman period native farmstead at Hind Gate survives well. It forms part of
a wider pattern of Roman period native settlement in Upper Teesdale, including
several larger settlements, and field systems.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Coggins, D, 'Upper Teesdale the archaeology of a North Pennine Valley' in Upper Teesdale The Archaeology Of A North Pennine Valley, , Vol. 150, (1986), 102

Source: Historic England