Details

The monument includes two adjacent round barrows and the area between them in
which unmarked burials and other archaeological remains may survive. The
monument is situated in undulating land overlooking the sea to the east. The
barrows are part of a group of similar monuments lying between the sea and the
predominantly heather covered moorland characteristic of the North York Moors
lying to the east. The area has been enclosed and brought into agricultural
use however, it is known that the prehistoric period saw intensive use of the
land for agricultural and ritual purposes. Some remains of these activities
survive today.
Each barrow has an earth and stone mound standing 25m apart. The western
mound measures 18m in diameter and is 0.4m high. The eastern mound has been
partly reduced by agricultural activity and measures 15m in diameter and is
0.3m high. Each of the mounds was surrounded by a ditch up to 3m wide which
has been filled in and is no longer visible as an earthwork.
One of the barrows was partly excavated in 1852 and the remains of cremation
burials and urns were found

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.

Although reduced by agricultural activity the two round barrows known as Rudda
Howes, 400m north west of Rudda Farm have survived well. Significant
information about the original construction of the barrows, the burials placed
within them and their relationship with other monuments in the area will be
preserved. Evidence of earlier land use will also survive beneath the barrow
mounds.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 1-32

Source: Historic England