Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age burial mound on High Callis Wold. The
barrow mound has a diameter of 32m and stands to a height of 0.5m. Although no
longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was excavated
during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become
in-filled over the years but survives as a buried feature 3m wide. The barrow
mound was excavated by J R Mortimer in 1865 and 1868. During the first
excavation an oval grave containing `greasy cavities' but no burial was
discovered. In 1868 a second rock cut grave was excavated; it contained a
crouched inhumation, pottery fragments, and an axe head. A double circle of
post holes was found surrounding the graves and is thought to be remains of a
mortuary structure.

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.

Despite partial excavation and plough damage this barrow retains significant
information on the manner and duration of its use.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Yorkshire: Volume I, (1907), 367
Mortimer, J , Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905), 156-157
Mortimer, J R , Forty Years Researches in British and Saxon Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905), 153-156

Source: Historic England