Hardendale Quarry Pipeline, Cumbria. Archaeological Survey

Corus have proposed pipelines, c 4.6km in combined length, in two sections, to provide drainage from Shapfell Quarry, Cumbria. The northern section extends from the north side of Shapfell Quarry to Trainrigg Sike in the north (NGR NY 5902 1455 to NY 5798 1562) and the southern section from the north side of Shapfell Quarry to Dalebanks Beck in the south-east (NGR NY 5902 1455 to NY 6039 1361). The pipeline to Dalebanks Beck is proposed to be routed within the existing road from Shap to Oddendale, and on a track through agricultural land on the eastern side of Oddendale, to Dalebanks Beck (Fig 1). In accordance with a verbal brief from the Assistant Archaeologist, Cumbria County Council, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) undertook an archaeological desk-based assessment of the entire proposed pipeline route, and a walk-over survey of the section of the proposed route from Oddendale to Dalebanks Beck.
The landscape through which the proposed pipeline is routed contains numerous prehistoric sites. Neolithic and Bronze Age activity in the area is evidenced by several monuments, including Shap Stone Avenue, stone circles at Shap, Castle Howe and Oddendale, and ring cairns on Iron Hill and at Oddendale and Hardendale Nab. Iron Age/Romano British settlement sites are located to the south-east of the study area at Crosby Ravensworth, including Ewe Close, the best preserved Romano-British native settlement in North West England. Medieval settlement of the area can be seen in the small settlements of Oddendale and Hardendale with their associated strip field systems, fossilised in the current field boundaries. In the post-medieval and modern periods, extensive limestone quarrying has taken place, resulting in a number of current and former quarries and associated features, such as limekilns, being present in the study area.
In total, 113 sites of archaeological interest were identified during the desk-based assessment and walk-over survey. Thirty-three of these sites were recorded in the Cumbria Historic Environment Record (Sites 01-33), twenty-three sites were recorded by the Quarry Extension Survey of 1996 (Sites 91-113), seven sites were recorded from a map regression exercise (Sites 34, 80-82, 87 and 89-90), five sites were recorded fromconsultation of aerial photographs (Sites 83-86 and 88), and 45 sites were identified on the walk-over survey (Sites 35-79). There is one Scheduled Monument (SM) within the study area which is Castle Howe Stone Circle (Site 05), and three Grade II listed buildings (Sites 31-33).
Prehistoric sites identified within the study area include a Bronze Age stone circle at the north end of the route (Site 05), a possible prehistoric enclosure in Castlehouse Scar Plantation (Site 01), and a Neolithic/Bronze Age ring cairn to the west of Oddendale (Site 02). Castle Howe stone circle (Site 05) is a Scheduled Monument, but the line of the proposed pipeline is outside the scheduled area. Although none of these monuments are located directly on the route of the proposed pipeline, they indicate the high potential for prehistoric archaeology in this area.
Twenty-three of the sites were identified as being potentially impacted upon during the construction of the proposed pipeline (Sites 12, 15, 34, 45, 51, 53-4, 57-8, 64-6, 73, 76, 79, 83-8, 96 and 106). These include the medieval settlement of Oddendale (Site 79) and a number of associated earthworks that comprise elements of the medieval strip field system (Sites 12, 45, 51, 54 and 64). Two further areas of ridge and furrow, which could be medieval or post-medieval in date, will potentially be impacted upon by the pipeline (Sites 15 and 58). A medieval lane is located to the east of Oddendale (Site 53), and a post-medieval lane runs parallel and to the north of it (Site 34); the proposed pipeline route follows the post-medieval lane. Other post-medieval sites potentially impacted upon by the pipeline include the Shap to Wickerslack road (Site 79), former field boundaries (Sites 85 and 86), a sheep shelter (Site 76), a pair of gateposts (Site 73), quarries (Sites 65-6) and a clearance cairn (Site 57). Undated holloways are located to the west of Oddendale (Sites 83-4), and further north, to the east of Hardendale (Site 88).
Several recommendations for archaeological mitigation have been included in the report, but these will be subject to consultation with the Assistant Archaeologist, Cumbria County Council. If the route is varied away from the proposed line of the pipeline then a walk-over survey should be undertaken on the new route line. It is also recommended that a detailed topographic survey be carried out, prior to the commencement of construction works, for the earthwork sites east of Oddendale that are on the route of the proposed pipeline (Sites 12, 15, 45, 51, 54, 58, 64, 83, 84 and 88). This survey would be within a corridor on either side of the pipeline and would serve to provide a context for any features revealed within the proposed pipeline trench.
Due to the presence of a number of confirmed sites along the remainder of the route and the high potential for further, as yet unknown remains, it is also suggested that a permanent presence watching brief is undertaken for the entire length of the easement. In addition, two areas of the proposed pipeline route are considered to be of high archaeological potential, and require further archaeological mitigation. The first is the area to the north and east of Castle Howe stone circle (Site 05) and the area west of the potential prehistoric enclosure (Site 01). The second is to the east of Oddendale, where the proposed pipeline crosses Sites 54 and 64, an area of well-preserved medieval strip lynchet field system. In these areas it is recommended that the groundworks for the pipeline are carried out in an archaeologically controlled manner. This would require an archaeologist to supervise the level to which the ground is initially stripped and then the trench line would need to be manually excavated to record any features revealed in the strip. In the section east of Oddendale, it is recommended that the topsoil strip be kept to the minimum width so as to minimise the impact on the earthworks.