Three round cairns 70m east of Rydal Beck

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011351
Date first listed:: 04-Oct-1993

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011351
Date first listed:: 04-Oct-1993

Location

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

District:: Westmorland and Furness (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Lakes
National Park:: LAKE DISTRICT
National Grid Reference:: NY 36630 08175

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 minor surface disturbance to the main cairn, the three round cairns 70m east of Rydal Beck survive well. The monument is a rare example in Cumbria of three closely grouped round cairns. None of them are known to have been excavated and they will therefore retain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the cairns and upon the old landsurface beneath.

Details

The monument includes three round cairns located on the valley floor 70m east of Rydal Beck. The main cairn is an oval mound of largely turf-covered stones up to 1.5m high with maximum dimensions of 20m by 30m which is situated upon a low rocky outcrop. At the summit of the cairn is a shallow circular depression 1.3m in diameter and 0.1m deep surrounded by earthfast stones. 3m to the north of the main cairn is a slightly oval mound of largely turf-covered stones up to 0.5m high with maximum dimensions of 5.5m by 5m. 2m to the north-west of the main cairn is a second slightly oval mound of largely turf-covered stones up to 0.5m high with maximum dimensions of 6.5m by 6m.

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:: 22554
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), (1988)
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No. 13681, Cumbria SMR, Lakes, Rydal Fell, (1990)

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.