Monument record MDR7736 - Cairnfield and field system, Brampton East Moor, Brampton

The scheduled remains of a cairnfield and field system on Brampton East Moor. The monument includes a group of prehistoric cairns occupying a bluff of moorland together with associated field banks of linear clearance forming a discrete prehistoric field system. The cairnfield and linear field banks occupy a bluff of well drained moorland to the east of an extensive area of Bronze Age settlement on Gibbet Moor, the subject of a separate scheduling. The cairnfield was part of the overall pattern of settlement and related activities on the moor, but is separated from other remains by areas of boggy and stony ground. There are approximately 12 cairns standing within an area of stone cleared ground, once forming a discrete area of cultivated land. Most of the cairns appear to have survived intact. They are of varying sizes, the largest being about 4.5m by 6m ranging to smaller examples of approximately 2m in diameter. The cairns are the result of prehistoric land clearance to form suitable ground for cultivation. Associated with the clearance cairns are several lengths of linear clearance indicating that the area was divided into field plots used for cultivation. Such clearance gradually formed field banks from debris systematically removed from the plots and thrown alongside field hedges or fences. In this example, the linear field banks survive in good condition, are substantial, and form a well-preserved example of a prehistoric field system dating to the Bronze Age. The cairnfield and field system 530 metres south of Dalebrook House survives well and provides an insight into Bronze Age agricultural use of this moorland. (1)