White Lyne round cairn 60m NNW of confluence of Gate Grain and White Lyne

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 unrecorded limited disturbance to the centre of the monument, White Lyne round cairn survives reasonably well and will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. The cairn lies close to other prehistoric monuments around Bewcastle, thus indicating the importance of this area in prehistoric times and the diversity of monument classes to be found here.

Details

The monument includes White Lyne round cairn located 60m NNW of the confluence of Gate Grain and White Lyne. It includes a heather covered circular mound of stones measuring 7m in diameter and up to 0.8m high. Unrecorded disturbance at the centre of the cairn has revealed a rectangular flat stone slab measuring approximately 0.6m by 0.5m identified as the cist cover which would have originally covered a burial.

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:

27797

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)

End of official list entry

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