Details

The monument is situated in a prominent position on Low Bradley Moor
overlooking Airedale and in close proximity to two small round cairns and a
ring cairn. The long barrow survives as a pile of millstone grit boulders 67m
long, 12m wide and approximately 0.8m high. Covering the south end is a
circular cairn 21.5m in diameter, superimposed on to the barrow, and rising in
profile above the spine in excess of 0.5m. Its original summit has been
removed and disturbance has been caused by stone robbing and excavation. Near
the centre of the mound is a hollow 3m by 2m in diameter and approximately
1.5m deep in which stands the remains of a stone cist. When discovered during
an excavation by Alan Butterfield in 1930, its capstone and dry-stone walled
ends were intact, it was 2m in length and 0.9m in width and depth. Now, the
base stone and two upright stones, one of which is cracked in half, remain
with part of the capstone. A single human burial and scattered cremated bone
lay under a slab in a paved floor recess. To the south and west of the cist
are two further hollows with diameters of 2m and depths of 0.5m-0.7m. Most of
the long barrow is intact; only its north eastern end has suffered badly from
stone robbing.

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

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking
ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic
periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early
farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments
surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows
appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the
human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide
evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and,
consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites
for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of
long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded
nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as
earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and
their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be
nationally important.

Round cairns are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to
the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500BC.
They were constructed as stone mounds which cover single or multiple burials.
Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations
amongst early prehistoric communities.
The monument, although partially disturbed by excavation, is still well
preserved containing further archaeological remains. It is an unusual example
in this area of a round cairn superimposed on an earlier long barrow. It will
retain information on the relationship of the two monuments and on changing
burial practices over time.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butterfield, A, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Structural Details of a Long Barrow, Bradley Moor, (1939), 243-245
Butterfield, A, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Structural Details of a Long Barrow, Bradley Moor, (1939), 243-245
Manby, T G, Feather, S W, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of the Pennines., (1970), 396-7
Manby, T G, Feather, S W, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of the Pennines., (1970), 396-397
Raistrick, A, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Prehistoric Burials at Wadington and Bradley, West Yorkshire, (1931), 243-255
Raistrick, A, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.' in Prehistoric Burials at Wadington and Bradley, West Yorkshire, (1931), 243-255

Source: Historic England