Details

The monument includes a ring cairn situated on level ground towards the
northern edge of the Tabular Hills.
Originally the ring cairn had a ring bank enclosing an area of about 10m. A
large part of this is no longer visible as an earthwork, having been levelled
by forestry ploughing, but the south western quarter survives as a curving
bank of earth and stones, measuring 3m across and standing up to 0.3m high.
Traces also survive in the south east and north west sectors.
The ring cairn 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

Reasons for Scheduling

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of
stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may
be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small
uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of
England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground
level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial
photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples.
Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are
interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact
nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has
revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and
pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial
rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the
number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available
evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a
relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form,
all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological
deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

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 ring cairn 900m south west of Cockrah House retains
archaeological deposits which will contain information about its original form
and use.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Lee, G E, Wykeham Archaeological Survey, (1991)
Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 2nd Edition 25" sheet 77/13
Source Date: 1928
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England