Round cairn 690m south-east of Gaythorne Cottages

Reasons for Designation

Round cairns are funerary monuments covering single or multiple burials and dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000 - 700 BC). They were constructed as mounds of earth and stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter but usually considerably smaller; a kerb of edge set stones sometimes bound the edges of the mound. Burials were placed in small pits, on the old land surface or, on occasion, within a box-like structure called a cist let into the old ground surface or dug into the body of the cairn. Round cairns can occur as isolated monuments, in small groups or in large cemeteries. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provides important information on the diversity of beliefs, burial practices and social organisation in the Bronze Age. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of preservation. Despite limited antiquarian investigation the round cairn 690m south-east of Gaythorne Cottages survives well. This investigation located human and faunal remains together with pottery, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface.

Details

The monument is a round cairn located on the gently graded north-facing slope of Gaythorne Plain 690m south-east of Gaythorne Cottages. It includes a largely turf-covered oval mound of limestone rubble up to 1.2m high with maximum dimensions of 18m by 14m. Limited antiquarian investigation located the broken and scattered bones of two individuals situated upon a rock outcrop around which the cairn had been constructed. A short distance south-east of the mound's centre was an urn containing a cremation, and elsewhere amongst the cairn ox bones were located. An information sign on the monument's eastern side is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it is included.

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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

22472

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows, (1989)
Charlesworth, D., AM 7, (1964)
In SMR No. 1772, Clare, T, (1972)
SMR No. 1772, Cumbria SMR, 2 Round barrows on Gaythorne Plain, (1985)

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