Details

The monument is a partly mutilated bowl barrow located on the westerly edge of
the summit ridge of Iron Hill. It includes a sub-oval shaped hummocky mound up
to 0.3m high with maximum dimensions of 6m by 5m. There is a partial ring of 7
rounded pink granite boulders, formerly part of a kerb that surrounded the
mound, with 2 more similar boulders lying beyond the partial ring a short
distance to the north-east. Four boulders scattered on top of the mound are
thought to be part of a cist. Limited antiquarian investigation at this site
located the bones of a man, part of a deer antler and animal bones.

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.

Limited antiquarian investigation of this monument located human and faunal
remains, and further evidence of interments will exist within the mound and
upon the old landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Collingwood, R G, 'Trans Cumb & West Ant & Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Prehistoric Settlements Near Crosby Ravensworth, (1936), 220
Collingwood, R G, 'Trans Cumb & West Ant & Arch Soc. New Ser.' in Prehistoric Settlements Near Crosby Ravensworth, (1936), 220-1
Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No. 2903, Cumbria SMR, Mounds at Iron Hill, Crosby Ravensworth, (1987)

Source: Historic England