Details

The monument includes a cairnfield in Hagg Wood, Honley. It is situated at the
end of a plateau. There are nine cairns, between 3m and 8m in diameter, and up
to 0.6m high. Towards the southern end of the cairnfield are two parallel
rubble banks which run approximately south east-north west, from the scarp at
the edge of the plateau to the west edge of the wood. The rubble banks are
about 3m wide and up to 0.3m high.
The cairnfield also includes two circular features which may be hut circles.
The southern of these is a slight hollow with a level base about 12m in
diameter. The northern one is largely obscured by holly trees, but is visible
as a rubble bank where it is crossed by a path at the northern end of the
cairnfield.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Cairnfields are concentrations of cairns sited in close proximity to one
another. They often consist largely of clearance cairns, built with stone
cleared from the surrounding landsurface to improve its use for agriculture,
and on occasion their distribution pattern can be seen to define field plots.
However, funerary cairns are also frequently incorporated, although without
excavation it may be impossible to determine which cairns contain burials.
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
which began during the earlier Bronze Age and continued into the later Bronze
Age (2000-700 BC). The considerable longevity and variation in the size,
content and associations of cairnfields provide important information on the
development of land use and agricultural practices. Cairnfields also retain
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation during the
prehistoric period.

The cairnfield in Hagg Wood survives well and will retain important
archaeological information including its relationship to the settlement
associated with it. It is similar to two other cairnfields in woods in the
Honley area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
'Huddersfield Archaeology Society Bulletin' in Huddersfield Archaeology Society Bulletin, , Vol. 13, (1963)

Source: Historic England