Details

The monument includes a round barrow which is situated on a gentle
south-facing slope towards the southern edge of the Tabular Hills.
The barrow originally had an earth and stone mound 31m in diameter, but
over the years this has been levelled by ploughing, so that now it is
visible only as a slight rise in the surface of the field, which stands up
to 0.2m high. The round barrow lies in an area in which there are many
other prehistoric monuments, including further barrows and the remains of
prehistoric land division.

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 disturbance, the round barrow 650m north west of St Hilda's
Church, Ellerburn has surviving archaeological deposits which will
preserve information about the original form of the barrow and the burials
placed within it. Evidence for earlier land use and the contemporary
environment will also survive beneath the barrow mound.
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

Books and journals
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 126
Other
Craster, OE, AM7, (1967)

Source: Historic England