Shaftoe Crags Settlement
Shaftoe Crags Settlement is an archaeological site in Northumberland, England, about 8 miles (13 km) west of Morpeth. The site at Shaftoe Crags, with remains dating from the Iron Age and Romano-British periods, is a scheduled monument.[1]
 Salters Nick, running through Shaftoe Crags, viewed from the north-west. The remains of the Iron Age and Romano-British settlement are on the right, above the crags. | |
 .svg.png.webp){kind=icon} Shown within Northumberland | |
| Coordinates | 55°8′8.160″N 1°55′2.100″W |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | NZ 054 824 |
| Type | Defended settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age Romano-British |
| Designated | 17 March 1995 |
| Reference no. | 1013757 |
Description
There is a curving rampart of stone and earth, about 7 metres (23 ft) wide and up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) high, running south-east from Salters Nick. It forms, with natural defences of crags to the south, west and north, an enclosure of irregular shape, about 70 metres (230 ft) north-east to south-west and 48 metres (157 ft) north-west to south-east. This is a native defended settlement of the Roman period. Inside the enclosure are the remains of three or more stone roundhouses, diameter about 9 metres (30 ft).[1]
There are indications of an enclosing rampart of an earlier Iron Age settlement, within which the Romano-British settlement was built. Any roundhouses from this period are obscured by the later buildings.[1]
Archaeological sites nearby
- Huckhoe Settlement, an Iron Age and Romano-British defended settlement
- The Poind and his Man, a Bronze Age burial mound
- Slate Hill Settlement, an Iron Age defended settlement