Details

The monument includes two round barrows, lying 9m apart on a north-south axis,
situated in a prominent position on the southern flank of Hawnby Moor. There
are many similar barrows on the Hambleton Hills.
The southern barrow has a well defined flat topped earth and stone mound
standing 1m high. It is round in shape and 8m in diameter. The centre of this
mound has been dug into in the past. The area immediately to the north of this
barrow has been disturbed by quarrying. The mound was surrounded by a ditch
between 1m and 3m wide which, where not disturbed by the quarrying, has become
filled in over the years and is no longer visible as an earthwork.
The northern barrow is much larger in size, being 19m across but only 0.3m-
0.5m high. The mound was surrounded by a ditch up to 3m wide which has become
filled in over the years and is no longer visible as an earthwork. A farm
track cuts across the eastern edge of the mound and ditch.
They are two of many similar barrows on this area of the Hambleton Hills. Many
of these lie in groups, particularly along the watersheds. They provide
evidence of territorial organisation marking the division of land; divisions
which still remain as some parish or township boundaries.

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 both barrows have been disturbed, they remain identifiable and
significant information about their original form, burials placed within them
and evidence of earlier land use beneath the mounds will be preserved.
Together with adjacent barrows they are thought to mark a prehistoric boundary
in this area. Similar groupings of barrows are also known across the north and
central areas of the North York Moors providing important insight into burial
practice. Such groupings of monuments also 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
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, (1993)
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, (1993)

Source: Historic England