Details

The monument includes a cairn, approximately 9m in diameter and 0.3m high. It
is situated on Hope Moor, 850m south west of Cocker Stake Nook.
The cairn is largely grassed over, but has a pile of exposed stones in its
centre, where a cist was found, 2.3m long, 1.4m wide and up to 0.4m high, with
stone up to three courses high around a void.

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

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age
(c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or
multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined
compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch.
Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the
modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are
the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of
their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.

The cairn 850m south west of Cocker Stake Nook has been disturbed, but will
retain evidence of its form, and buried archaeological remains will survive
below ground. It will therefore contribute to our knowledge of prehistoric
burial practice. It is also unusual to find such burial sites at this height
above sea level in County Durham. The majority of cairns are located at lower
heights. It forms an important part of the prehistoric landscape of Hope Moor
and the nearby Barningham Moor where numerous other sites survive including
other cairns, prehistoric carved rocks, settlements and agricultural field
systems. This site will therefore contribute to studies of prehistoric land
use.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Northern Archaeological Associates, High Moor Windfarm Environmental Statement, 1996, Site number 9 Arndale Beck

Source: Historic England