Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated on level ground at the top of a
sandstone ridge in Langdale Forest.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound which stands up to 1m high and
measures up to 12m in diameter. The centre of the mound has been hollowed out
by partial excavation in the past. The barrow was originally surrounded by a
kerb of stones which defined it and supported the mound. However, over the
years many of these stones have been taken away or buried by soil slipping off
the mound and they are only visible now around the north eastern edge.
The barrow lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric burial
monuments as well as 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, the round barrow on Maw Rigg, 1.5km west of High
Langdale End 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. The barrow lies close to a cairnfield in an
area where there are many other prehistoric burial monuments. Associations
such as this offer important scope for the study of the relationship between
agricultural and ritual activity in the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: Forestry Commission Areas North York Moors Archaeological Survey
Source Date: 1992
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Sites 2.136 and 2.137
Title: Ordnance Survey 2nd Edition 25" sheet 61/16
Source Date: 1892
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England