Details

The monument includes a round barrow which occupies an area of level
ground in a prominent ridge-top position on the North York Moors. It is
situated on the northern edge of a line of whinstone quarries along the
Cleveland Dyke. The barrow has a sub-circular mound constructed from
earth and stone, which measures up to 13m in diameter and stands up to
1.2m high. Partial excavation in the past has left a hollow in the centre
of the mound. Between the years of 1952 and 1962 this hollow was occupied
by Lilla Cross, when it was temporarily removed from its original
location. An unsurfaced track marking a former route of the Beck Hole Road
passes to the immediate north of the barrow mound. The barrow is one of a
number in this area which lie on a major watershed towards the eastern
side of the North York Moors. It is surrounded in the wider area by many
other prehistoric monuments, particularly burials, which are often located
in prominent and highly visible locations in the landscape.

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 adjacent to the Whinstone
Ridge on Goathland Moor, 600m SSW of Breckon Howe 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 mound.

Together with other burial monuments in the area this barrow is thought to
represent a territorial marker. Similar monument groups are known across
the west and central areas of the North York Moors and provide valuable
insight into burial practice and land division for social and ritual
purposes.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Hayes, R H, Old Roads and Pannierways in North East Yorkshire, (1988)

Source: Historic England