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Latitude: 54.2718 / 54°16'18"N
Longitude: -0.5312 / 0°31'52"W
OS Eastings: 495746.217178
OS Northings: 487236.3424
OS Grid: SE957872
Mapcode National: GBR SMQ1.SF
Mapcode Global: WHGBY.TW7J
Entry Name: Round barrow in California Belt, 140m east of Fox Head
Scheduled Date: 14 December 1960
Last Amended: 9 May 2001
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1017157
English Heritage Legacy ID: 33516
County: North Yorkshire
Civil Parish: Wykeham
Traditional County: Yorkshire
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): North Yorkshire
Church of England Parish: Hutton Buscell St Matthew
Church of England Diocese: York
The monument includes a round barrow situated on level ground towards the
northern edge of the Tabular Hills.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound which stands up to 1.5m high. It is
round in shape and has a diameter of 20m. In the centre of the mound there is
a hollow caused by partial excavation in the past.
The barrow lies within a dense concentration of prehistoric burial monuments
in an area which also includes the remains of prehistoric settlement and land
division.
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
Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
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.
The Tabular Hills in the Wykeham Forest area contain a dense concentration of
prehistoric monuments, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, which
includes field systems, enclosures and land boundaries as well as both round
and square barrows. The spatial and chronological relationships between the
round and square barrows in this area, and between both types of barrow and
other prehistoric monuments, are of considerable importance for understanding
the development of later prehistoric society in eastern Yorkshire.
Despite disturbance, the round barrow in California Belt, 140m east of Fox
Head has survived 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 three burial monuments and such clusters provide important
insight into the development of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze
Age.
Source: Historic England
Books and journals
Lee, G E, Wykeham Archaeological Survey, (1991)
Other
3656.01,
Source: Historic England
Other nearby scheduled monuments