Round cairn on Newton Moor, 840m north east of Summer Hill Farm

Overview

Location

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 limited disturbance, the cairn on Newton Moor, 840m north east of Summer Hill Farm 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 will also survive beneath the mound. The cairn is one of a group of seven burial monuments and such clusters provide important insight into the development of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze Age. It is also situated within an area which includes other groups of burial monuments as well as field systems, enclosures and clearance cairns. Associated groups of monuments such as these offer important scope for the study of the distribution of prehistoric activity across the landscape.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn situated in a prominent position on a moorland ridge on the edge of the North York Moors. The cairn has a well defined stone mound 10m in diameter and standing up to 1m high. The edges of the mound are now covered in peat and vegetation. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by past excavations. A public footpath passes the north edge of the mound running east-west. The cairn is one in a group of seven spread along the ridge and lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments including further burial monuments, field systems and clearance cairns.

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:

32011

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Crawford, G M, Bronze Age Burial Mounds in Cleveland, (1980)
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.