Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position on a
north facing slope at the edge of the North York Moors.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing 1.3m high. It is ovoid in
shape and measures 20m north east to south west and 18m north west to south
east. Records show that the barrow was originally surrounded by a kerb of
stones which defined the barrow and supported the mound, one of which was
decorated with 19 cup marks. However, over the years many of these stones have
been taken away or buried by soil slipping off the mound, although one is
still visible on the north side. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow
caused by past excavations. The mound lies at the junction of two field
boundary fences with the majority of it to the north east of the junction. To
the south of the east-west boundary the mound has been ploughed level. The
barrow lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments, including further
barrows, field systems and clearance cairns.
The two fence lines crossing the mound 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.
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.

Despite limited disturbance, the barrow 265m north east of Dimmingdale Farm
has survived well. Significant information about the original form of the
barrow and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence for
earlier land use will also survive beneath the barrow mound.
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 (c. 2800-500 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 barrow is one of several which include decorated cup-marked stones,
distributed along the northern and eastern periphery of the North York Moors.
As such it can be dated to the last part of the Neolithic period or Early
Bronze Age, earlier than many similar barrows found on the central moorland.
It is situated within a group of prehistoric monuments which includes
clearance cairns, a stone hut circle and further burial monuments. 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)
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994)
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