Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position on the
eastern edge of Hambleton Down overlooking Low Gill.
The barrow consists of a well defined earth and stone mound standing 1.2m
high. It is round in shape and 18m in diameter. This 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.
There are many similar barrows on this area of the Hambleton Hills. Many of
these lie in closely associated groups, and are associated with a system of
later prehistoric boundaries. They provide evidence of territorial
organisation marking divisions 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.

This barrow has survived well and significant information about the original
form, burials placed within it and evidence of earlier land use beneath the
mound will be preserved.
Together with adjacent barrows it is thought to represent a territorial
marker. These barrows are also associated with a later prehistoric linear
boundary system, the Cleave Dyke. Such groupings of 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
Spratt, D A, 'The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal' in The Cleave Dyke System, , Vol. VOL 54, (1989), 33-53

Source: Historic England