Round cairn on Granny Hill, 420m south east of Loft Howe

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.

The Tabular Hills in the Wykeham Forest area contain a dense concentration of prehistoric monuments, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, which includes field systems, enclosures and land boundaries as well as both round and square barrows. The spatial and chronological relationships between the round and square barrows in this area, and between both types of barrow and other prehistoric monuments, are of considerable importance for understanding the development of later prehistoric society in eastern Yorkshire. Despite limited disturbance, the cairn 420m south east of Loft Howe survives well. Significant information about the original form of the cairn and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence for earlier land use and the contemporary environment will also survive beneath the mound.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn situated on level ground overlooking Foss Gill, towards the northern edge of the Tabular Hills. The cairn has a mound of stones which stands up to 1.1m high. It is round in shape and has a diameter of 10m. Originally it had a diameter of up to 15m but over the years this has been reduced by forestry ploughing at the edges. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by part excavation in the past. Adjoining the mound on the south west side there is a smaller mound which measures up to 3m across. This is material from the cairn which has been disturbed by forestry ploughing on the south side of the cairn. The cairn lies within a dense concentration of prehistoric burial monuments in an area which also includes the remains of prehistoric settlement and land division.

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:

33510

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Lee, G E, Wykeham Archaeological Survey, (1991)

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 25" 2nd Edition sheet 77/13 Source Date: 1928 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:

End of official list entry

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