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.
Northern Pind Howe round barrow is a good example of the type typically found
on the North Yorkshire Moors. Excavation of round barrows in the region have
shown that they demonstrate a very wide range of burial rites from simple
scatters of cremated material to coffin inhumations and cremations contained
in urns, typically dating to the Bronze Age. A common factor is that barrows
were normally used for more than one burial and that the primary burial was
frequently on or below the original ground surface, often with secondary
burials located within the body of the mound. Most barrows include a small
number of grave goods. These are often small pottery food vessels, but stone,
bone, jet and bronze items have also occasionally been found.
Details
The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial
mound located on the north side of a plateau forming the summit of Danby Rigg.
A second barrow, also called Pind Howe, lies on the south side of this
plateau, 180m to the SSE. A third larger barrow known as Wolf Pit lies on a
saddle across the Rigg, 800m to the south. These barrows are the subject of
separate schedulings.
The barrow is intervisible with the southern Pind Howe, with both sited on top
of the north-south orientated ridge, marking the northern and southern sides
of the summit of the rigg. The northern Pind Howe has also a good view
northwards to the other Bronze Age monuments on the lower northern extent of
Danby Rigg. These are also the subject of separate schedulings. The barrow
itself survives as a 7m diameter earth and stone mound standing up to 1m high
with a 3m diameter, 0.5m deep central hollow.
Excavations of other barrows have shown that even where no encircling
depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately
around the outside of barrows frequently survive as infilled features,
containing additional archaeological deposits.
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.
