Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent hilltop position
on the north edge of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound 8m in diameter and standing up to 0.6m
high. It was originally surrounded by a kerb of stones which defined the
barrow and supported the mound. The kerb stones are still visible around the
southern and eastern edges of the mound but many of the others have been
either taken away or buried by soil slipping from the mound over the years. A
large earthfast boulder measuring up to 1m across is incorporated into the
barrow on its north side and a modern marker cairn has been constructed
against it. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by excavations
in the past.
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.

Despite disturbance, the barrow on Codhill Heights, 860m south east of Codhill
Farm survives well. Significant information about the original form of the
barrow and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence for
earlier land use will also survive beneath the barrow mound.
Together with other burial monuments in the area this barrow is thought to
represent a territorial marker. Similar monument groups are known across the
west and central areas of the North York Moors and provide valuable insight
into burial practice and land division for social and ritual purposes. It is
also situated within an area which includes field systems, enclosures and
clearance cairns as well as other burial monuments. Associated groups of
monuments such as these offer important scope for the study of the
distribution of prehistoric activity across the landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Crawford, G M, Bronze Age Burial Mounds in Cleveland, (1980)
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)

Source: Historic England