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.
Details
The monument includes a round cairn located on the northern edge of the summit
of Noon Hill. It includes a slightly oval mound of earth and stones up to 1.3m
high with maximum dimensions of 21m north-south by 19m east-west. On the
monument's southern edge there are three partially exposed gritstone boulders
which form part of the cairn's kerb. Limited excavation of the cairn in 1958
and again in 1963/4 located the primary burial at the monument's centre. This
comprised three cremations interpreted by the excavator as an adult male,
adult female, and a child, located beneath a collapsed enlarged food vessel
and inserted into a central stone cist. Three or four secondary cremations and
a number of flint tools including barbed and tanged arrowheads, scrapers and a
knife were also found during these excavations.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
23708
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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.
End of official list entry
