Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position at the
top of a north west facing scarp slope on the edge of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing up to 2m high. It is ovoid in
shape and measures 18m north east-south west and 16m north west-south east. In
the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by excavations in the past.
The line of an early excavation trench can also be seen running north east
from the centre of the mound. An old wall line crosses the mound from south
east to north west.
The barrow is one in a line of four burial monuments spread along the top of
Ryston Bank and lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments, including
further barrows, field systems and clearance cairns.
The boundary walls which cross the monument are excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath them is included.

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, the barrow on Ryston Bank 310m south west of
Hanging Stone 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.
The barrow is one of a group of four burial monuments and such clusters
provide important evidence for the development of ritual and funerary practice
during the Bronze Age. It is also situated within an area which includes other
groups of burial monuments as well as field systems, enclosures and clearance
cairns. 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