Stirkfield

NT14SW 13 1139 4042 to 1142 4038.

(NT 1139 4042 and NT 1142 4038) Settlements (NR)

OS 6" map (1968)

Two settlements are situated close together near the foot of the steep W slopes of the Broughton Heights. The northernmost settlement measures 110' by 90' internally. Round the N and SE arcs the wall that originally enclosed it is now reduced to a turf-covered stony bank standing one foot high externally and up to 2' internally, but elsewhere only a low scarp survives. The entrance on the W, has been widened by former cultivation. The interior contains at least four house-platforms, one of which is partly surrounded by a low bank. Immediately to the S of it, and occupying the SE corner of the settlement, there is a shallow depression, measuring about 38' across, which probably represents another, badly-damaged, house-platform.

The other settlement, which lies 30' to the SSE, is of similar size to the first, measuring 120' by 90' internally. The remains of its wall survive for the entire circuit as a grass-grown bank of earth and small stones, measuring about 9' in thickness and up to 2' in height. Two outer facing-stones are visible on the S and SW respectively. The entrance, on the W, is 6' wide, and within the interior there is a house-platform measuring 25' across.

RCAHMS 1967, visited 1962

As described.

Visited by OS (EGC) 28 August 1964 and (SFS) 28 October 1974

Photographed by the RCAHMS in 1980 (colour transparency).