Kirknewton : Bronze Age (2000 BC – 700 BC)
There are several sites recorded by the SMR that are considered to be of Bronze Age date within the bounds of Kirknewton Township. The Stone Circle recorded 250m north east of Torleehouse cannot be seen today, and is probable that its location was not reported accurately, or that stones at the site were misinterpreted (Oswald et al, 2000).
A bronze socketed axe was found on the summit of Easter Torr in 1904, apparently among stones, though the precise findspot is unknown, and the axe itself cannot now be traced. Bronze weapons such as this are extremely rare, and are likely to have been very valuable, perhaps the exclusive preserve of an elite social class. It is unlikely that bronze axes would ever have been suitable for everyday activities such as tree-felling (Higham 1986, 104). The context of this find, among stones on the summit of a hill, suggests that it may have been deposited deliberately, perhaps as an offering to a deity.
As in the preceding Neolithic, religion and ritual was extremely important in Bronze Age society, and this is reflected in the complex burial traditions of the period. The round cairn on the slopes of Easter Torr may have originally contained a Bronze Age burial, though the indentation at its top suggests that the cairn has been excavated without record, probably in the 19th century. Though many such cairns probably never contained burials, some certainly did (ibid, 92). It is possible that Easter Torr was a holy place or ritual centre at some time in the Bronze Age. Other possible burial cairns are known near to West Hill and may be of similar date to the cup-marked boulder discussed above, Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (3000 BC – 1700 BC).
Bronze Age settlements are not known in the study area, though the hut circles in association with cultivation terraces at nearby White Hill (NT 883289) may perhaps belong to this period, though without excavation, this cannot be confirmed (Topping 1983, 29). The massive stonewall of the hillfort of Yeavering Bell approximately 1km east of Kirknewton succeeds a timber palisade that may be of Later Bronze Age date.
On the basis of the remains discussed above it is clear that the Cheviot slopes south of Kirknewton were the focus for ritual or ceremonial activity in the Later Neolithic and Earlier Bronze Age. It is likely that permanent unenclosed settlements similar to those at Houseledge and Lookout plantation were in existence both on the Cheviot slopes and in the Glen and College valleys by the mid second millennium, though no examples are yet known from the study area. By the end of the millennium the local population was large enough, and felt insecure enough, to warrant the construction of substantial timber defences at Yeavering Bell.