Field Walking the Vale of Eden

Where did the stone circle builders live?

The Penrith Museum field walking project seeks to map evidence for prehistoric settlement in the Vale of Eden, an important region in the Neolithic and Bronze Age (c.3800 - 1500 BC). Eden contains an exceptional number of monuments, including the stone circles of Long Meg and Her Daughters and the henges of Mayburgh and King Arthur's Round Table. Elsewhere are many barrows, chambered mounds and rock art sites.

Despite this proliferation of sites, we know almost nothing about the people who built and used them. One of the primary objectives of the 'Living Among the Monuments' project is to trace where people lived. Research has been conducted across the western coastal plain of Cumbria (eg Cherry and Cherry 1983) and in the limestone uplands to the south-east of Eden (Cherry and Cherry 1987), and considerable quantities of prehistoric artefacts discovered. But no survey has been conducted across the Vale itself, leaving a large gap in the evidence and our understanding.

This project seeks to map the distribution of artefacts collected from ploughed fields across the Vale of Eden, revealing the broad pattern of occupation. Did people live among their monuments, or were parts of this landscape infrequently visited?

Field Walking

One of the best ways in which we can begin to answer these questions is through the archaeological technique of field walking. Certain artefacts such as stone tools and pottery can survive from the time of the circle builders, but they are usually buried beneath the soil. When farmers plough their fields these artefacts are sometimes brought to the surface. By systematically walking across large areas of ploughed land it is possible to see and collect them.

With luck, we will locate artefacts that can also be dated. For example, leaf-shaped arrowheads belong the earlier Neolithic, whilst barbed-and-tanged arrowheads are from a later period. In this way we hope to build up a picture through time, revealing those areas of the Vale of Eden that were more frequently occupied. By walking fields in different location it will be possible to sample contrasting environments across the Vale, including the valley margins, sandstone hills and the River Eden floodplain.

As a field walking survey the project will not employ excavation or metal detecting and, while permission is essential, will not be disruptive to farming.

The results

We hope that the project will highlight those environments most favoured by people in prehistory, and might also indicate where people lived in relation to their monuments. Did people occupy the areas immediately around stone circles and henges, or were these places marginal to the pattern of settlement? Is there any evidence for imported materials e.g. flint from North Yorkshire, or even Whitby jet? It may also be possible to contrast the distributions of diagnostic Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age implements.

Our emphasis is the location of prehistoric artefacts, and a total collection will be made of all significant archaeological material. Significant finds will be analysed by specialists and the results published.

An exhibition of the finds and their interpretation will be hosted by Penrith Museum.

Would you like to take part?

There will be a call for volunteers who would like to participate in the field walking survey. The timing of this is entirely dependent on the weather and agricultural cycle, but we estimate most of the work will take place in the spring and autumn. Training will be provided for anyone unfamiliar with the techniques.

For further information please contact the Museum directly.

References

Cherry, J. and Cherry, P. 1983. Prehistoric habitation sites in west Cumbria: part 1. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society 83, 1-14
Cherry, J. and Cherry, P. 1987. Prehistoric habitations sites on the limestone uplands of eastern Cumbria. Kendal: Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society (Research Volume 2).

Last updated 11 June 2008