Treeman,
Thanks, perhaps I should write my ideas up, but I'll have to give it a bit of thought, as it's all in my head, thoughts gathered through the years. I'm fairly new to this site, and am not used to putting archaeological thought, theory, ideas, into constructive writing. I'll give it consideration and hopefully have the confidence to go for it sometime in the future. Nice to know you're interested.
My opinions on the Lakeland passes come from a lifetime of walking and climbing on the Cumbrian hills (or Cumberland, Westmorland and part of Lancashire as it used to be before political bullshit and massaging took over). I get out on the Lakeland fells every weekend, give or take one or two, in all seasons, and in all weathers. To see the upland archaeological sites in the wildest conditions gives a new perspective to them. I've almost converted one of my mountain mates to atiquarian interest. He's just returned from a trip to the Isle of Arran, during which he had a very "thoughtful" experience on Machrie Moor. Since then he's visited TMA website.
The passes used by the packhorses in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries are lines of least resistance through the fells, linking valley to valley, and valley to sea. The Neolithic peoples must have sought out similar lines, lines which would have been passed down through ancestors. Laden with stone axe rough-outs from a rich vein of rock high in the hills, they would have wanted to return, after perhaps a lengthy absence, as quickly as possible to the lowlands to the east, and the coastal lowlands to the south and west. Back home, the axes would have been finished.
I feel sure that most, if not all of these routes would have been used by the Old People as routes for not only transporting materials, but as trade routes to other areas. Naturally, these routes would have remained known down the ages, and if not, they are so obvious as to have been opened up and used again in the future.
It's just a theory based on my experience amongst the fells, and what I've read.
