Long barrow and superimposed round cairn on Black Hill

Reasons for Designation

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and, consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be nationally important.

Round cairns are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500BC. They were constructed as stone mounds which cover single or multiple burials. 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. The monument, although partially disturbed by excavation, is still well preserved containing further archaeological remains. It is an unusual example in this area of a round cairn superimposed on an earlier long barrow. It will retain information on the relationship of the two monuments and on changing burial practices over time.

Details

The monument is situated in a prominent position on Low Bradley Moor overlooking Airedale and in close proximity to two small round cairns and a ring cairn. The long barrow survives as a pile of millstone grit boulders 67m long, 12m wide and approximately 0.8m high. Covering the south end is a circular cairn 21.5m in diameter, superimposed on to the barrow, and rising in profile above the spine in excess of 0.5m. Its original summit has been removed and disturbance has been caused by stone robbing and excavation. Near the centre of the mound is a hollow 3m by 2m in diameter and approximately 1.5m deep in which stands the remains of a stone cist. When discovered during an excavation by Alan Butterfield in 1930, its capstone and dry-stone walled ends were intact, it was 2m in length and 0.9m in width and depth. Now, the base stone and two upright stones, one of which is cracked in half, remain with part of the capstone. A single human burial and scattered cremated bone lay under a slab in a paved floor recess. To the south and west of the cist are two further hollows with diameters of 2m and depths of 0.5m-0.7m. Most of the long barrow is intact; only its north eastern end has suffered badly from stone robbing.

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:

24488

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butterfield, A, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Structural Details of a Long Barrow, Bradley Moor, (1939), 243-245
Butterfield, A, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Structural Details of a Long Barrow, Bradley Moor, (1939), 243-245
Manby, T G, Feather, S W, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of the Pennines., (1970), 396-7
Manby, T G, Feather, S W, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of the Pennines., (1970), 396-397
Raistrick, A, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Prehistoric Burials at Wadington and Bradley, West Yorkshire, (1931), 243-255
Raistrick, A, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. in Prehistoric Burials at Wadington and Bradley, West Yorkshire, (1931), 243-255

End of official list entry

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