Details

The monument includes a round cairn situated on a gentle south west-facing
slope. It lies on Middle Jurassic sandstone towards the eastern edge of the
North York Moors.
The cairn has a stony mound which stands 0.6m high and measures up to 10m in
diameter. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow left by partial
excavation in the past.
The round cairn lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric
monuments, including funerary and ritual 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 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.

Despite limited disturbance, the round cairn on Cowgate Rigg, 870m north of
Brooklands Farm has survived well. Significant information about the original
form of the cairn and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence
for earlier land use and the contemporary environment will also survive
beneath the stony mound. The cairn was originally one of four distributed
across Cowgate Rigg. It is situated within an area which also includes other
groups of burial monuments as well as field systems and clearance cairns. 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:
Site 5.18

Source: Historic England