Round cairn on Holystone Common, part of round cairn cemetery

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011401
Date first listed:: 25-Jan-1994

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011401
Date first listed:: 25-Jan-1994

Location

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

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Harbottle
National Park:: NORTHUMBERLAND
National Grid Reference:: NT 95256 01847

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.

This round cairn is well preserved and a good example of its type. It is one of a group of cairns on Holystone Common, which will contribute to any study of prehistoric settlement and activity in the area.

Details

The monument includes a cairn of Bronze Age date situated on Holystone Common. The heather-covered cairn is 8m in diameter and 0.5m high. A rectangular disturbance is visible at the centre of the earth and stone mound but the damage is slight and limited in area. The location of the cairn suggests that it is associated with the adjacent round cairn cemetery.

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:: 20962
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
663,

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.