Details

The monument includes the buried remains of a prehistoric burial mound located
at the southern, uphill end of Sturdy Rigg on Scawton Moor, overlooking the
confluence of Nettle Dale and Rye Dale to the north.
The monument is one of a group of round barrows scattered for 3.5km along the
north side of the watershed to the south of Rye Dale. The other surviving
round barrows of this group are the subject of separate schedulings. The
monument is located on level ground and its site is intervisible with the two
barrows on Claythwaite Rigg 500m and 600m WNW. In 1947 it was described as
being 50ft (15m) in diameter and 4ft (1.2m) high with a ditch. Subsequently
the area has been regularly ploughed and the barrow has been spread so that no
upstanding mound can now be identified. However, excavation of other similar
sites has shown that archaeological remains can survive undisturbed under the
plough soil. The primary burial of a round barrow was typically placed in a
pit cut into the original ground surface before the construction of the
covering mound and secondary burials have also been found in pits cut into the
ditches encircling barrows.

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 barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
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.

Although the round barrow on Scawton Moor, 700 ENE of High Lodge, no longer
retains upstanding earthwork remains, it is still considered to retain buried
deposits. The plough soil will also retain material from the original
covering mound.

Source: Historic England