Details

How Tallon round barrow is situated at the crest of the How Tallon ridge on
Barningham Moor and at the conjunction of three stone field walls which
encroach onto the monument. It includes a mound which rises to a maximum
height of 2.3m on its south side but is reduced to 1.5m elsewhere. It is now
largely grassed over, although some small stones protrude on the south
side, and has an overall diameter of 15m. The cairn was excavated by the
Reverend R A Gatty and Sir Frederick Milbank in 1897. A total of five burials
were uncovered along with fragments of a food vessel and Beaker pottery. A
modern triangulation point has been set into its western side. The section of
the modern field wall which runs over the cairn from east to west is included
in the scheduling as it contains a number of prehistoric cup-marked stones.

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 partially disturbed by excavation, How Tallon is still a well
preserved example of this monument type containing further archaeological
remains.
Prehistoric rock `art' is found on natural rock outcrops in many upland
areas of Britain. The most common form is the cup and ring marking, where
small cup like hollows are cut into the surface of the rock. These may be
surrounded by one or more `rings'. Elaborations on this basic form also occur
but are less common. Carvings may occur singly, in small groups, or may cover
extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and Bronze
Age periods (2800-c.500BC) and provide one of our most important insights into
prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown but they
may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols being frequently found close
to contempory burial monuments and on portable stones incorporated into burial
mounds.
The How Tallon cup marked rocks survive in the wall which runs over the
burial mound, it is probable therefore that they originally came from the
barrow itself or its immediate area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Coggins, D, Clews, S, 'Trans.of the Arch. and Arch. Soc.of Durham and Northumberland.' in Archaeology in the Bowes Museum, (1980), 17-30
Coggins, D, Clews, S, 'Trans.of the Arch. and Arch. Soc.of Durham and Northumberland.' in Archaeology in the Bowes Museum, (1980), 17-30

Source: Historic England