Ancient Monuments

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A cairn, a carved rock, and a rubble bank, in the south west corner of Scale Knoll Allotment, 800m south east of Far East Hope, Barningham Moor

A Scheduled Monument in Hope, County Durham

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.4728 / 54°28'22"N

Longitude: -1.9288 / 1°55'43"W

OS Eastings: 404710.462516

OS Northings: 508607.41147

OS Grid: NZ047086

Mapcode National: GBR GJZQ.6D

Mapcode Global: WHB4S.BTRY

Entry Name: A cairn, a carved rock, and a rubble bank, in the south west corner of Scale Knoll Allotment, 800m south east of Far East Hope, Barningham Moor

Scheduled Date: 24 October 1997

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1017431

English Heritage Legacy ID: 30469

County: County Durham

Civil Parish: Hope

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham

Church of England Parish: Barningham St Michael and All Angels

Church of England Diocese: Leeds

Details

The monument includes a cairn, a carved rock, and a rubble bank, all of which
are prehistoric in date. It is situated on Barningham Moor, in the southwest
corner of the modern sheep-grazing enclosure known as Scale Knoll Allotment.
The monument is on the east side of a small knoll, 800m south east of Far East
Hope.
The cairn has a diameter of 5m, and a height of 0.3m. It has been only
slightly disturbed by stone-robbing in the past.
The carved sandstone rock measures 1.03m by 0.64m by 0.53m high. The carving
consists of between nine and 11 cups, four of them connected in pairs.
The rubble bank is 16m long, 2m wide, and attains a maximum height of 0.22m.

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.

Prehistoric rock carving is found on natural boulders and rock outcrops in
many areas of upland Britain. It is especially common in the north of England
in Northumberland, Durham, and North and West Yorkshire. The most common form
of decoration is the `cup' marking, where small cup-like hollows are worked
into the surface of the rock. These cups may be surrounded by one or more
`rings'. Single pecked lines extending from the cup through the rings may also
exist, providing the design with a `tail'. Other shapes and patterns also
occur but are less frequent. Carvings may occur singly, in small groups, or
may cover extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and
Bronze Age periods (2800-c.500 BC) and provide one of our most important
insights into prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains
unknown, but they may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols. All
positively identified prehistoric rock carvings will normally be identified as
nationally important.
The cairn, carved rock and rubble bank 800m south east of Far East Hope
form part of a wider group of carved rocks and other archaeological features
on Barningham Moor. The cairn has been slightly disturbed, but retains
evidence of its form and location. The close relationship of this rubble bank
to the carved rock and cairn is significant, and the rubble bank is therefore
considered worthy of protection. The carving on the rock survives well. The
carved rock, cairn, and rubble bank form an important part of the prehistoric
landscape of Barningham Moor, which includes numerous other carved rocks and
evidence for prehistoric burials, settlements and the agricultural use of the
land. This site will therefore contribute to studies of such prehistoric
landscapes and the changing patterns of land use over time.

Source: Historic England

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