Details

The monument is a round cairn located 320m north-north-west of Seal Howe on an
escarpment of Carboniferous Limestone. It includes a slightly oval mound of
limestone stones and earth up to 1.4m high with maximum dimensions of 14m by
13m. Limited antiquarian investigation of the monument's centre located the
primary burial of an unburnt male on the old landsurface and, a short distance
to the south, a secondary burial consisting of an urn containing the cremated
remains of a woman and child. A few ox bones were also found.

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

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age
(c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or
multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined
compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch.
Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the
modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are
the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of
their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.

Despite construction of a bield (animal shelter) and modern cairn on the
monument's summit and limited antiquarian investigation, the round cairn 320m
north-north-west of Seal Howe survives reasonably well. This investigation
located human and faunal remains together with pottery, and further evidence
of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old
land surface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Greenwell, W , British Barrows, (1877), 298
Other
SMR No.1579, Cumbria SMR, Cairn 250yds NW of Seal Howe, (1991)

Source: Historic England