Crigdon Hill round cairn

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008567
Date first listed:: 12-Apr-1994

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008567
Date first listed:: 12-Apr-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Alwinton
National Park:: NORTHUMBERLAND
National Grid Reference:: NT 86149 05358

Reasons for Designation

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 some damage to its centre the round cairn on Crigdon Hill survives well and retains significant archaeological deposits. Evidence of the manner of construction, and the nature and duration of its use will be preserved within and beneath the mound.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a substantial round cairn of prehistoric date situated on a scarp edge on the northern side of Crigdon Hill. The cairn, composed of large stones and earth measures 15m east-west by 10m north-south and stands to a maximum height of 2m. The stones at the centre of the cairn have been re-arranged to form a hollow measuring 3.5m by 2.5m to provide shelter.

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:: 25068
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Charlton, D B, Day, J C, An Archaeological Survey of the MOD Training Area, Otterburn, (1977)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.