Details

The monument is a round cairn located on the south east facing slope of Askham
Fell west of Riddingleys Top. It includes a slightly oval mound of largely
turf-covered stones up to 1m high with maximum dimensions of 9.9m by 8.3m.
There is a small central depression in the top of the cairn with some stones
exposed.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age
(c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or
multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined
compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch.
Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the
modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are
the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of
their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.

Despite some surface disturbance to the centre of the monument, the round
cairn west of Riddingleys Top survives reasonably well. It lies within an area
of open fell, rich in prehistoric monuments and will contain undisturbed
archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell Survey Catalogue, (1992), 30
Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), (1988)

Source: Historic England