Lordenshaw is a multi-period prehistoric and Romano-British landscape on a sandstone ridge of the Simonside Hills in Northumberland, dominated by a multivallate hillfort of probable later Iron Age origin (broadly 1st millennium BC) which continued in use, in altered form, into the Romano-British period (1st–4th centuries AD). The hillfort defences enclose an oval area of around 1 ha, with two visible stone-founded roundhouses inside, while outside the ramparts lie at least two further Romano-British settlement enclosures, an extensive contemporary field system, a cairnfield, a cross-dyke, a Bronze Age round cairn cemetery, and one of the densest concentrations of cup-and-ring rock art in northern England.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The site is significant as a well-preserved example of the upland native settlement pattern of the Northumbrian fringe under Roman rule, where Iron Age hillforts were typically slighted or reorganised into smaller agricultural enclosures rather than abandoned, reflecting the largely civilian, non-villa rural economy of the region behind Hadrian's Wall. Its juxtaposition with major prehistoric rock art panels makes it one of the most-visited and studied sites of its type in north-east England.
The site has been the subject of detailed earthwork survey by English Heritage/Historic England and the Northumberland & Durham Rock Art Pilot
Lordenshaw is a multi-period prehistoric and Romano-British landscape on a sandstone ridge of the Simonside Hills in Northumberland, dominated by a multivallate hillfort of probable later Iron Age origin (broadly 1st millennium BC) which continued in use, in altered form, into the Romano-British period (1st–4th centuries AD). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.
Lordenshaw multivallate hillfort, Romano-British settlements, field system, cairnfield, cross dyke, round cairn cemetery, rock art and medieval park pale is classified as a Roman settlement — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Romano-British farmstead, 175m south of Cockpit Well (2.6 km), Pattenshiel Knowe Iron Age/Romano-British farmstead (10.1 km), The Lady's Well and section of Roman road (10.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around Lordenshaw multivallate hillfort, Romano-British settlements, field system, cairnfield, cross dyke, round cairn cemetery, rock art and medieval park pale