Cairn on Addlebrough Hill including cup marked boulders.

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.

The monument, although partially disturbed, is still a well preserved example containing further archaeological remains. Prehistoric rock `art' is found on natural rock outcrops in many upland areas of Britain. The most common form is the cup and ring marking, where small cup like hollows are cut into the surface of the rock. These may be surrounded by one or more `rings'. Elaborations on this basic form also occur but are less common. Carvings may occur singly, in small groups or may cover extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods (2800-c.500BC) and provide one of our most important insights into prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown but they may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols being frequently found close to contempory burial monuments and on portable stones incorporated into burial mounds. The rock carvings in this cairn survive well.

Details

The monument is situated on the north crest of Addlebrough, a large flat topped hill. The cairn is visible as a low stony mound with a diameter of 10.5m and a maximum height of 0.6m. It is much disturbed, the result of robbing, natural erosion and the construction of an OS triangulation point pillar on its north side. This has revealed several massive boulders within the body of the cairn. Two of these have well defined cup marks and a boulder on the north west side of the monument has a further 25 cups, three of them surrounded by rings. The mapped depiction has been drawn to enclose the OS triangulation point symbol and is therefore slightly larger than the monument on the ground which is 14.5m in diameter.

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:

24523

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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