Romano-British settlement and Iron Age defended settlement, 550m north east of Shaftoe Grange

Shaftoe Crags Settlement lies in Northumberland, about thirteen kilometres west of Morpeth. It stands on a rocky ridge where stone and earth ramparts curve round the hilltop. The remains date from two periods: the Iron Age and the Romano-British era. A single entrance faces the easiest approach, with small yards inside the enclosure. Natural crags protect the southern, western and northern sides of the site. The enclosure measures roughly seventy metres from north-east to south-west and forty-eight metres from north-west to south-east. Inside are the ruins of three or more stone roundhouses, each about nine metres across. A wider rampart, seven metres wide and up to one metre high, runs south-east from Salters Nick to complete the defences. Earlier Iron Age ramparts lie beneath the later Romano-British buildings, though their roundhouses are no longer visible. Nearby are other ancient sites. Huckhoe Settlement shares the same Iron Age and Romano-British phases. The Poind and his Man is a Bronze Age burial mound, while Slate Hill Settlement is an Iron Age defended site. Together they form a group of hilltop enclosures that show how people lived and defended themselves across the centuries.