Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society 13 (series 3)

The Tortie Stone at Tortie, Midgeholme, Cumbria, a rock bearing prehistoric decoration, was discovered in 1987. Some excavation work was done the following year, and two further decorated rocks were noticed in the near vicinity at this time. This report outlines the history of the stone and details the re-excavation of the site beneath; the stone was moved and was afterwards reinstated. The stone is said to have been briefly removed in 2006. The excavated evidence and photographs from 1988 indicated that following this incident, the stone had been returned to more or less its original location. LD

Excavations undertaken in 2005 revealed four cremations, three clustered within 2m of each other and a fourth 15m to the west. Two had been placed within urns whilst two were unurned. Fragments of a third urn were recovered. Radiocarbon analysis showed a considerable spread of dates, with two burials producing dates of 1420-1260 cal BC and the other two producing dates about 300 years later and 500 years earlier respectively. The site appeared to represent a flat cemetery rather than a barrow cemetery. A linear stone-filled ditch was recorded 2m west of the cluster of burials; its relationship to the burials is unknown.

Two trenches were excavated in 2004 at a site that lay between the line of Hadrian's Wall to the north west and the probable course of the Vallum about 30m to the south east. This was part of both a Scheduled Monument and the Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site. The earliest archaeological features encountered represented part of an extensive system of arable fields, known from earlier excavations in the area, that predates the construction of the Hadrian's Wall frontier system in the AD 120s. Sealing these remains was a thick deposit of compacted earth and clay, the significance of which was unclear. It was perhaps associated with the construction of a parade ground for the nearby stone cavalry fort at Stanwix, or may have been deposited during the construction of Hadrian's Wall itself.

In 2006 an evaluation revealed medieval and post-medieval remains, and significant quantities of pottery of these periods. Subsequent excavation in 2009 identified two main phases of development relating to the medieval and post-medieval occupation of two burgage plots, as well as two periods of apparent abandonment. This article examines a map of 1754 which provides evidence for the medieval layout of the town of Appleby, before describing the results of the excavation. The medieval pottery assemblage is then described and discussed. As a result of this and previous work, an Eden Valley medieval ceramic tradition is slowly beginning to emerge. Au/LD

This article examines in detail a rare carved wooden screen at Carlisle Cathedral, dated to between 1540 and 1547. Setting it firmly in its historical context, the paper demonstrates how the thinking of the mid-16th century dictated much of the screen's design, iconography and symbolism. It is intended to show that the purpose underlying the screen was to celebrate the Tudor myth in the person of Henry VIII, with its allusions to the politics and theology of the time.

This article presents the results of a detailed field survey of lime kiln sites across the entire historic county of Westmorland and the Pennine fringe of Cumberland, and of comprehensive research into the production and uses of lime. The article places lime burning within a historical context, then outlines the historic use of lime across the rest of what is now Cumbria. It considers the constraints which held back large-scale lime production in the county, before discussing a range of variables that help explain the distribution and details of lime kilns in the survey area.

Note covering three separate finds of Roman date, recently discovered in the neighbourhood of the forts and vicus at Burgh-by-Sands. These are: 1) a Roman window head reused as a cornerstone in the wall of an outbuilding of a public house; 2) a sculptured 'niche' or household shrine (lararium) found partly buried in a domestic garden; 3) the upper stone of a beehive quern, retrieved from a hedge-line of the field containing the fort designated Burgh I. LD

Note presenting the results of the archaeological excavation of a cable trench that crossed the line of the Hadrian's Wall Vallum, a Scheduled Monument. The excavated trench exposed the upper part of the Vallum ditch and the remains of the associated north and south mounds and berms. The results thus confirmed the extrapolated line of the Vallum. Pollen analysis suggested a period of woodland clearance at some time prior to construction of the Vallum, perhaps as far back as the Bronze Age. However, the layers from which pollen had been extracted could not be securely dated. LD

Note on a Roman coin hoard found in 2010 and since acquired by Penrith and Eden Museum. The find consisted of 62 loose coins together with a large 'ball' of coins fused together by corrosion products. It is understood that no attempt will be made to separate the coins in the 'ball', which may number as many as 500 to 600. The suggested date-range for the coins was about AD 320-50; hoards with this narrow date range are not common in the region. The historical context of the hoard's deposition is discussed and some comparison is made with other hoards from this part of the Eden Valley. LD