Round barrow on Whinny Hill, 270m south west of High Farm

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The round barrow on Whinny Hill, 270m south west of High Farm is important because of its spatial association with two other surviving round barrows. Together with other barrows in the area, it is thought to represent a territorial marker. Similar groups of monuments are also known across the west and central areas of the North York Moors, providing important insight into burial practices. Such groupings of monuments offer important scope for the study of land division for social and ritual purposes in different geographical areas during the prehistoric period. Prehistoric rock art is found on natural rock outcrops in many areas of upland Britain. It is especially common in the north of England in Northumberland, Durham and North and West Yorkshire. The most common form of decoration is the `cup and ring' marking, where expanses of small cup like hollows are pecked into the surface of the rock. These cups may be surrounded by one or more `rings'. Single pecked lines extending from the cup through the rings may also exist, providing the design with a `tail'. Pecked lines or grooves can also exist in isolation from cup and ring decoration. Other shapes and patterns also occur, but are less frequent. Carvings may occur singularly, in small groups, or may cover extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods (c.2800-500 BC) and provide one of our most important insights into prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown, but they may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols. Frequently they are found close to contemporary burial monuments and the symbols are also found on portable stones placed directly next to burials or incorporated into burial mounds. Around 800 examples of prehistoric rock art have been recorded in England. This is unlikely to be a realistic reflection of the number carved in prehistory. Many will have been overgrown or destroyed in activities such as quarrying. All positively identified prehistoric rock art sites exhibiting a significant group of designs normally will be identified as nationally important. This barrow is one of several which include decorated cup marked stones, distributed along the northern and eastern periphery of the North York Moors. As such it can be dated to the last part of the Neolithic period or Early Bronze Age, earlier than many similar barrows found on the central moorland.

Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated at the south east edge of a level prominence on the north edge of the North York Moors. The barrow has an earth and stone mound which has been spread by ploughing. It is up to 22m in diameter and stands up to 1m high. Part excavation in 1890 by Canon W Greenwell uncovered two cists consisting of stone slabs set vertically into the ground and these would have surrounded burials. He also found pottery, two jet ornaments and a cup marked stone within the matrix of the mound. The barrow was originally one of at least nine, only three of which survive as earthworks, the remainder having been ploughed out.

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:

32479

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 89

End of official list entry

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