Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a formerly prominent position
on the top of a slight rise in Langdale Forest.
The barrow has a well defined earth and stone mound which stands up to 1.2m
high and measures 15m in diameter. The mound was originally surrounded by a
ditch up to 2m wide but this has become filled in over the years by soil
slipping from the mound and is only visible now as a slight depression on the
north western side of the mound. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow
caused by partial excavation in the past. On the west side of the excavation
hollow there is a boundary stone, bearing on its south eastern face the
inscription `By Order of the Commissioner of Wykeham Inclosure 1786'.
The round barrow lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments including
further round barrows, field systems and clearance cairns.

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.

Despite limited disturbance, Low Woof Howe round barrow 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 and the
contemporary environment will also survive beneath the barrow mound and within
the buried ditch.
Together with other barrows in the area, Low Woof Howe is thought to represent
a territorial marker. Similar groups of monuments are also known across the
west and central areas of the North York Moors, providing important insight
into burial practice. Such groupings of monuments offer important scope for
the study of land division for social and ritual purposes in different
geographical areas during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
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