Ring cairn on Lealholm Moor, 640m north east of South View Farm

Reasons for Designation

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

The ring cairn on Lealholm Moor is a well preserved example. Its importance is heightened by its proximity to the well preserved round barrow 80m to the west, which forms a separate scheduling. The ring cairn shows no evidence of disturbance by antiquarian excavation and the interior and encircling bank is thus considered to retain intact archaeological deposits including burials. The monument is also thought to have an encircling infilled ditch containing additional archaeological deposits.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial mound on Lealholm Moor. The monument is prominently sited on top of the east-west ridge which links Danby Beacon and Lealholm Rigg and which thus forms Lealholm Moor. It is formed by a 4m wide earth and stone bank typically 0.4m high which describes a 14m diameter circle.

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:

30184

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

End of official list entry

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