Details

The monument includes earthwork and associated buried remains of a prehistoric
burial mound within Far Moor Plantation, located on the spine of Westwood
Rigg.
The monument is one of a group of three intervisible round barrows on the top
of the rigg. It is sited on a gentle slope on the spine of the north eastwards
pointing Westwood Rigg, 90m south east of a smaller barrow sited on the
northern side of the rigg and 110m NNE of a larger barrow on the south east
facing slope, both being the subjects of separate schedulings. The round
barrow is a 0.7m high spread mound originally about 10m in diameter but
elongated to the north west with spoil from a central 1.5m diameter hollow
0.5m deep. This is thought to be the result of an unrecorded antiquarian
excavation. Excavation of other examples of round barrows in the region have
shown that even where no encircling depression is discernible on the modern
ground surface, ditches immediately around the outside of the mound frequently
survive as infilled features, containing additional archaeological deposits. A
margin to allow for such an infilled ditch up to 2m wide is thus also included
within the monument.

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.

The majority of round barrows in the region were dug into by 19th century
antiquarians in search of burials and artifacts, leaving behind a central
depression as evidence of their work. However excavations in the latter half
of the 20th century have shown that round barrows typically contain
archaeological information that survives earlier digging. Secondary burials
tend to be located within the main body of the mound and sometimes one of
these was mistaken for the primary burial which was usually the goal of the
antiquarian. Even when the primary burial has been excavated, further
secondary burials often survive in the undisturbed surrounding part of the
mound and infilled ditch. Additional valuable information about the mound's
construction and the local environment at the time of its construction will
also survive antiquarian excavation.
The round barrow 780m NNE of Waterloo Farm is one of three well preserved
round barrows on Far Moor which together form an important group.

Source: Historic England