Iron Age square barrow cemetery on Haisthorpe Moor, 750m WNW of Demming Farm

Reasons for Designation

Square barrows are funerary monuments of the Middle Iron Age, most examples dating from the period between c.500 BC and c.50 BC. The majority of these monuments are found in the area between the River Humber and the southern slopes of the North Yorkshire Moors but a wider distribution has also been identified, principally through aerial photography, spreading through the river valleys of the Midlands and south Essex. Around 200 square barrow cemeteries have been recorded; in addition, a further 250 sites consisting of single barrows or small groups of barrows have been identified. Square barrows, which may be square or rectangular, were constructed as earthen mounds surrounded by a ditch and covering one or more bodies. Slight banks around the outer edge of the ditch have been noted in some examples. The main burial is normally central and carefully placed in a rectangular or oval grave pit, although burials placed on the ground surface below the mound are also known. A number of different types of burial have been identified, accompanied by grave goods which vary greatly in range and type. The most elaborate include the dismantled parts of a two-wheeled vehicle placed in the grave with the body of the deceased. Ploughing and intensive land use since prehistoric times have eroded and levelled most square barrows and very few remain as upstanding monuments, although the ditches and the grave pits, with their contents, will survive beneath the ground surface. The different forms of burial and the variations in the type and range of artefacts placed in the graves provide important information on the beliefs, social organisation and material culture of these Iron Age communities and their development over time. All examples of square barrows which survive as upstanding earthworks, and a significant proportion of the remainder, are considered of national importance and worthy of protection.

The square barrow cemetery on Haisthorpe Moor is one of the largest and most concentrated square barrow cemeteries of the La Tene period in East Yorkshire. Despite the loss of all above ground earthwork remains of the monument through regular ploughing, aerial photographs confirm the presence of burials and ditches, which survive as buried features, and which will retain important information relating to the La Tene period.

Details

The monument includes an extensive square barrow cemetery of the Iron Age La Tene period, situated in fields adjacent to Haisthorpe Moor, about three miles due south west of Bridlington. The site was discovered through aerial photography, which revealed at least 300 square barrows, representing one of the largest and most concentrated cemeteries of the La Tene period in the Yorkshire Wolds. The site consists of densely packed barrows distributed along a north-south axis, in close east-west `runs', and measures approximately 800m long by 200m wide.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

26527

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Loughlin, N, Miller, K R, Archaeological Sites in Humberside, (1979), 84;87

Other
Bastow, M.E., AM107, (1993)
Bastow, M.E., AM107, (1991)
Johnson, JK, AM7, (1979)
Bastow, M.E., AM107, (1986)
Humberside SMR, Sites and Monuments Records Sheet, (1994)
Bastow, M.E., AM107, (1989)
Cambridge University Collection, St Joseph, J.K., Ant 52 1978 137-9 plan, (1978)
Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 75/261 1253-4 23/06/75; R1 NG 27/02/81,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.