Details

The monument includes the earthwork and associated buried remains of a
prehistoric burial mound constructed mainly of stones on the eastern side of
Rudland Beck 650m north west of White Sykes.
The cairn is sited on gently sloping ground around 50m east of Rudland Beck
towards the base of a shallow valley between Swinacle Ridge to the west and
the lower southern part of Rudland Rigg to the east. The cairn is a 6m
diameter mound 0.6m high, constructed mainly of stones ranging from 0.2m to
0.5m across. It has been disturbed by an unrecorded excavation with a narrow
trench cut through to a central depression 2m in diameter and up to 0.5m deep.
Spoil from this excavation appears to have been deposited on the south west
side of the cairn elongating the mound to 8m north east to south west. Around
the edge of the cairn there are a number of large edge set kerb stones.
Excavation of other examples of round cairns 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 around the cairn 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 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 of the lowlands. 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.

The majority of round cairns 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 cairns 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 or outer 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 cairn 615m SSW of Rudland House will retain important archaeological
information.

Source: Historic England