Details

The monument includes a round barrow and an adjacent round cairn situated in a
prominent position at the top of a north west facing scarp slope on the
edge of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earthen mound 10m in diameter and standing up to 1m high. In
the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by past excavations. The
cairn lies 10m to the north east of the barrow. It has a well defined steep
sided stone mound 13m in diameter and standing up to 1.5m high. In the centre
of the mound there is a hollow caused by past excavations.
The barrow and the cairn are two in a line of four burial monuments spread
along the top of Ryston Bank and lie in an area rich in prehistoric monuments
including further barrows, field systems and clearance cairns.
The ruined boundary wall which runs south west-north east across both mounds
is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

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.

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. 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.
Despite limited disturbance, both the barrow and the cairn 470m south west of
Hanging Stone have survived well. Significant information about the original
form of the barrow and the cairn and the burials placed within them will be
preserved. Evidence for earlier land use will also survive beneath the mounds.
The barrow and the cairn belong to a group of four burial monuments and such
clusters provide important evidence for the development of ritual and funerary
practice during the Bronze Age. They are also situated in an area which
includes other groups of burial monuments as well as field systems, enclosures
and clearance cairns. Associated groups of monuments such as these offer
important scope for the study of the distribution of prehistoric activity
across the landscape.

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)

Source: Historic England