Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent ridge top
position between High Dales and Whisper Dales, on the Hackness Hills.
The barrow has an earthen mound which stands up to 1.3m high and has a maximum
diameter of 16m. The mound has, however, been truncated on the east side by
forestry ploughing and on the west side by the construction of a field
boundary fence so that it measures only up to 12m east to west. The mound was
originally surrounded by a ditch up to 2m wide but this has become infilled
over the years by soil slipping from the mound so that it is no longer visible
as an earthwork.
The barrow lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric burial
monuments.
The field boundary fence which runs across the western edge of the mound in a
north to south direction is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath the fence posts 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

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, the round barrow in Springwood Heights
Plantation, 220m north west of Springwood Cottage 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. It is the only barrow identified on the Hackness Hills which
does not appear to have been excavated in the past and it will therefore have
undisturbed archaeological deposits in the centre relating to the primary
burials, which are less likely to survive in the part-excavated barrows.
The barrow lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric burial
monuments. The association with similar monuments provides insight into the
distribution of ritual and funerary activity across the landscape during the
prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: Forestry Commission Areas North York Moors Archaeological Survey
Source Date: 1992
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: Ordnance Survey 2nd Edition 25" sheet 77/1
Source Date: 1928
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England