Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated on the east flank of Commondale
Moor in the northern area of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing 1.2m high. It is round in
shape, measuring 20m in diameter, and the top is covered with loose stones. It
was originally surrounded by a kerb of stones which defined the barrow and
supported the mound. However, none of these stones are now visible as they
have been taken away or buried by soil slipping from the mound. In the centre
of the mound is a hollow dug when the mound was excavated in the past. There
is no indication of a quarry ditch surrounding the mound.
The barrow lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments, including further
barrows, field systems and clearance cairns.

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.

This barrow has survived well and 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.
The barrow is one of a wider group of monuments in the area. 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 and ritual purposes in different geographical areas during the
prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Elgee, F, Early Man in NE Yorkshire, (1930), 148

Source: Historic England