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Round cairn 285m south east of White Raise round cairn, Askham Fell

A Scheduled Monument in Askham, Cumbria

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.5934 / 54°35'36"N

Longitude: -2.7886 / 2°47'18"W

OS Eastings: 349141.276073

OS Northings: 522303.859386

OS Grid: NY491223

Mapcode National: GBR 8HZB.26

Mapcode Global: WH81J.4TC1

Entry Name: Round cairn 285m south east of White Raise round cairn, Askham Fell

Scheduled Date: 7 August 1995

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1007375

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22525

County: Cumbria

Civil Parish: Askham

Traditional County: Westmorland

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cumbria

Church of England Parish: Askham with Lowther

Church of England Diocese: Carlisle

Details

The monument is a round cairn located on Askham Fell 285m south east of White
Raise round cairn. It includes a slightly oval mound of partly turf-covered
stones up to 0.3m high with maximum dimensions of 3.1m by 2.8m. There is a
shallow central depression on the cairn's summit.

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 minor surface disturbance to the top of the monument, the round cairn
285m south east of White Raise round cairn survives reasonably well and will
contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old
landsurface beneath. The cairn lies within an area of open fell rich in
prehistoric monuments, and is situated upon an alignment of funerary monuments
stretching for over 1.5km along the natural communication route over a col
between Lowther and Ullswater valleys. It thus indicates the importance of
this area in prehistoric times and the diversity of monument types to be found
here. The monument will contribute to the study of the ceremonial function of
cairns and other spatially associated monuments in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell Survey Catalogue, (1992), 22
Quartermaine, J, Askham Fell Survey Catalogue, (1992), 23-4

Source: Historic England

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