Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric round
barrow (burial mound), located in the southern corner of Sands Wood, about 80m
north of Woldgate Roman Road.
The barrow is sited on the north side of a ridge on gently sloping ground. It
survives as a well rounded mound approximately 20m in diameter and 1.5m high,
surrounded by the slight impression of a broad and largely infilled ditch. The
berm between the outer edge of the central mound and the inner lip of the
encircling ditch is gently sloping, but obviously not as steep as the sides of
the central mound, and is slightly elongated north to south. The form of the
berm is considered to be the result of weathering of the mound and ditch
sides. The mound, ditch and encircling berm together together comprise an area
of roughly 30m in diameter.

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.

Sands Wood round barrow is an unusual example of a bowl barrow, being
surrounded by a ditch separated from the mound by a berm. In this respect it
is similar to saucer barrows which have been identified on the chalk uplands
of Wessex. It is particularly well preserved with no evidence of antiquarian
or other excavation.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
SMR, 723,

Source: Historic England