Two round cairns 880m north east of Wilkwood East

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018949
Date first listed:: 03-Jul-2000

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018949
Date first listed:: 03-Jul-2000

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Alwinton
National Park:: NORTHUMBERLAND
National Grid Reference:: NT 88700 03613

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 some disturbance to the one of the cairns, the two round cairns 880m north east of Wilkwood East are reasonably well preserved and retain significant archaeological deposits. They are good examples of small, less prominently situated round cairns and will add to our knowledge of Bronze Age settlement and activity in the region.

Details

The monument includes the remains of two round cairns of Bronze Age date, situated on a low terrace on the north bank of the Wilkwood Burn. The most westerly of the two round cairns measures 4.5m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 0.5m. The most easterly of the cairns, which is situated 8m north east of the first, measures 5m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 0.5m. The northern edge of this cairn has been disturbed by shell fire.

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:: 28564
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Charlton, B, Fifty centuries of Peace and War, (1996), 29

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 Culture, Media and Sport.