Round cairn, 650m south of Swinburne Castle

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011406
Date first listed:: 24-Mar-1994

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011406
Date first listed:: 24-Mar-1994

Location

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

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Chollerton
National Grid Reference:: NY 93432 74602

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.

Although the cairn has been subject to partial excavation in the past, disturbance is limited and archaeological deposits survive well. Evidence of the manner of construction and the nature and duration of use will be preserved within and beneath the mound. The cairn is one of a small group in this area and will retain information on its relationship to other members of this group.

Details

The monument includes a cairn of Bronze Age date situated on a large promontory of land formed by the confluence of the Coal and Swin burns. The cairn, constructed of large stones and earth, measures 20m in diameter and is 1.4m high. The ditch, dug to provide material for the construction of the mound, is no longer visible but survives as a buried feature 2m across. The cairn was partially excavated in 1929 when a stone cist containing a cremated body and the remains of a Bronze Age pot and a stone ball were uncovered.

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:: 20935
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Ball, T, 'Proc Soc Antiq Ncle 4 ser 4 1924-30' in Proc Soc Antiq Ncle 4 ser 4 1924-30, (1930), 78-81
Other
No. 5524,

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.