Ancient Monuments

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A bowl barrow on Birdsall Wold, between Birdsall Dale and Vessey Pasture Dale

A Scheduled Monument in Thixendale, North Yorkshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.0492 / 54°2'57"N

Longitude: -0.7474 / 0°44'50"W

OS Eastings: 482105.92184

OS Northings: 462195.637014

OS Grid: SE821621

Mapcode National: GBR RP6M.Z7

Mapcode Global: WHFBW.HH95

Entry Name: A bowl barrow on Birdsall Wold, between Birdsall Dale and Vessey Pasture Dale

Scheduled Date: 15 January 1931

Last Amended: 27 January 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1007439

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20478

County: North Yorkshire

Civil Parish: Thixendale

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): North Yorkshire

Church of England Parish: West Buckrose

Church of England Diocese: York

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the east-facing slope of a
southward spur of Birdsall Wold, between Birdsall Dale and Vessey Pasture
Dale. The barrow is one of a number of prehistoric monuments on Birdsall Wold.
Although altered over the years by agricultural activity, the barrow is still
visible as a mound 0.3m high and 36m in diameter. The barrow was recorded and
is thought to have been partially excavated by J R Mortimer in 1868; since
then, regular ploughing has spread the edges of the mound so that it now
covers the area in which its infilled quarry-ditch will lie.

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

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

Although the barrow has been partially altered by agricultural activity, it
was comparatively well documented during a campaign of fieldwork in the 19th
century and below-ground remains will survive.
The monument is one of a closely associated group of barrows which have
further associations with broadly contemporary boundary earthworks on Birdsall
Wold. Similar groups of monuments are also known from other parts of the Wolds
and from the southern edge of the North York Moors. Such associations between
monuments offer important scope for the study of the division of land for
social, ritual and agricultural purposes in different geographical areas
during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Mortimer, J R , Forty Years Researches in British and Saxon Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905)
Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 6" Series
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England

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