Round barrow on Three Howes Rigg, 310m south east of White Cross

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.

Excavations 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. The barrow 310m south east of White Cross on Three Howes Rigg is one of an important group of barrows. It is relatively well preserved and forms a local landmark. The surrounding berm is a rare feature for a barrow on the moors, and confers additional importance to the monument.

Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of the northernmost of a line of five prehistoric burial mounds, the other four of which are the subject of separate schedulings. The five barrows are all located on the top of the broad ridge which forms the Rigg to the south of White Cross. The northernmost barrow and the southern pair centred 270m to the south all lie in an approximate north-south line with the remaining two barrows sited 25m- 30m to the east of this line, 150m and 200m to the south. The northernmost barrow is the largest and most prominent of the group. It survives as a mound 21m in diameter standing 1.8m high on level ground. The side of the mound has a step or berm 0.4m above the surrounding ground surface all around the mound except for the southern side. This berm is at its widest on the northern side where it is 3m wide. On the top of the mound there is a 0.5m deep depression 3m in diameter at the base and 5m in diameter at the top.

Excavations of other barrows has shown that shallow ditches immediately encircling the mounds are common, normally surviving as infilled features rather than as earthworks.

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:

30172

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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