Details

The monument is a round cairn located on the gently graded north-facing slope
of Gaythorne Plain 600m south-east of Gaythorne Cottages. It includes a partly
turf-covered oval mound of limestone rubble up to 1m high with maximum
dimensions of 14m by 12m. Three rounded stones on the southern edge of the
cairn are the remains of a kerb. Limited antiquarian investigation of the
cairn located the scattered and broken bones of an adult laid upon the old
landsurface. A further four kerbstones were also found.
An information sign at the monument's centre is excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath it is included.

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 limited antiquarian investigation the round cairn 600m south-east of
Gaythorne Cottages survives well. This investigation located human remains,
and further evidence of interments will exist within the mound and upon the
old landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows, (1989)
SMR No. 1771, Cumbria SMR, 2 Round barrows on Gaythorne Plain, (1985)

Source: Historic England