Sands Wood round barrow

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.

Sands Wood round barrow is an unusual example of a bowl barrow, being surrounded by a ditch separated from the mound by a berm. In this respect it is similar to saucer barrows which have been identified on the chalk uplands of Wessex. It is particularly well preserved with no evidence of antiquarian or other excavation.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric round barrow (burial mound), located in the southern corner of Sands Wood, about 80m north of Woldgate Roman Road. The barrow is sited on the north side of a ridge on gently sloping ground. It survives as a well rounded mound approximately 20m in diameter and 1.5m high, surrounded by the slight impression of a broad and largely infilled ditch. The berm between the outer edge of the central mound and the inner lip of the encircling ditch is gently sloping, but obviously not as steep as the sides of the central mound, and is slightly elongated north to south. The form of the berm is considered to be the result of weathering of the mound and ditch sides. The mound, ditch and encircling berm together together comprise an area of roughly 30m in diameter.

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:

30141

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SMR, 723,

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