Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position on the
north edge of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing 1.7m high. It is round in
shape and 15m in diameter. The mound was partly excavated by R S Close in
1956 and was found to have had two phases of construction and use. At first
the barrow mound was a turf stack surrounded by a circular kerb of stones.
This kerb consisted of large flat stones set on edge with a double kerb at the
north east and an inner circle of stones placed on the turf. In the centre of
this was a cist or stone coffin in which the cremated burial was placed.
Fragments of cremated bone, pottery and a clay bead were found. The mound was
later reused and a second cremation was inserted on the south east side and
the mound enlarged with a covering of stone and earth. In the central area, in
the upper turf and below a capping of flat stones, were four post holes, 0.3m
square and 0.6m deep. There was no ditch recorded surrounding the mound and it
is thought that the construction material was collected from loose stone and
turf in the vicinity. There is a boundary stone on the top of the mound, 1m in
height.
There are many similar barrows in this area of the North York Moors. Many are
part of groups, particularly along the watersheds or other prominent
locations, which indicates that the barrows, as well as being funerary
monuments, also represent territorial markers defining divisions of land.
These divisions 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.

Despite limited disturbance this barrow has survived well. Part excavation
has already demonstrated the survival of archaeological remains within the
barrow and that it had more than one phase of use. Significant information
about the original form of the barrow and the burials placed within it will
be preserved. Evidence of earlier land use will also survive beneath the
barrow mound.
Together with adjacent barrows it is also thought to have represented a
territorial marker. Similar groups of monuments are also known across the west
and central areas of the North York Moors, providing important insight into
burial practice. 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
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 6, 55
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. bar 104, (1993), 116-122

Source: Historic England