Details

The monument includes two round barrows on Patterson's Bank which are in two
separate areas of protection. The barrows are adjacent, one lying to the north
east of the other. The larger of the two is to the south west and has an earth
and stone mound 17m in diameter and standing up to 1.8m high. It was
originally surrounded by a kerb of stones which defined the barrow and
supported the mound, two of which were decorated with cup marks. Some of the
kerb stones are visible at the base of the mound in the south west and one in
the east, but the remainder have been either taken away or buried by soil
slipping from the mound. One cup marked stone is visible on the east side of
the monument but it has slipped from its original position down the slope into
a small quarry which clips the edge of the barrow. There is a hollow in the
centre caused by the removal of an Ordnance Survey triangulation point. The
smaller barrow lies 50m to the north east. It has a mound which is 11m in
diameter and stands up to 1.5m high. In the centre there is a hollow caused by
excavations in the past.
To the south east of the two mounds there is a fence and an adjacent wall
which are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is
included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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.

Despite limited disturbance, the two barrows on Patterson's Bank survive well.
Significant information about their original form and the burials placed
within them will be preserved. Evidence for earlier land use will also survive
beneath the barrow mounds.
Prehistoric rock art is found on natural 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 and ring' marking, where expanses of small cup-like hollows are pecked
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'. Pecked lines or grooves can also
exist in isolation from cup and ring decoration. 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.
Frequently they are found close to contemporary burial monuments and the
symbols are also found on portable stones placed directly next to burials or
incorporated into burial mounds. Around 800 examples of prehistoric rock art
have been recorded in England. This is unlikely to be a realistic reflection
of the number carved in prehistory. Many will have been overgrown or destroyed
in activities such as quarrying. All positively identified prehistoric rock
art sites exhibiting a significant group of designs normally will be
identified as nationally important.
The larger barrow to the south west is one of several distributed along the
northern and eastern periphery of the North York Moors which include decorated
cup-marked stones. As such it can be dated to the last part of the Neolithic
period or the Early Bronze Age, earlier than many similar barrows on the
central moorland.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Crawford, G M, Bronze Age Burial Mounds in Cleveland, (1980)
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)
Other
Rowe, P N, 0539, (1994)
Rowe, P, 0571, (1994)

Source: Historic England