Ana Cross round barrow and wayside cross

Reasons for Designation

Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in 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 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. Wayside crosses are one of several types of Christian cross erected during the medieval period, typically acting as way markers in otherwise unmarked terrain for routes for parishioners from outlying settlements, for funeral processions, long distance pilgrimage routes or merely the path linking ordinary settlements. Over 350 wayside crosses are known nationally, concentrated in the south west in Cornwall and on Dartmoor, with a small group found on the North Yorkshire Moors. Wayside crosses contribute significantly to our understanding of medieval religious customs, and to our knowledge of medieval route ways and settlement patterns. Ana Cross round barrow is relatively well preserved. Its interest is heightened by the cross, a modern replacement of a medieval wayside cross.

Details

The monument includes buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial mound, topped by a modern replacement of a medieval wayside cross, approximately 1km SSE of the top of Rosedale Chimney Bank. The round barrow is prominently sited on top of a natural rise to the east of Ana Moss. It is intervisible with the four barrows known as the Three Howes to the north west, but not with Abraham's Hut round cairn to the south east. The barrow is mainly of earthen construction with some visible stones up to 0.4m across, is 18m in diameter and 1.2m high. On the south side of its broad summit there is a slight hollow up to 0.4m deep, with the cross standing on the northern side. Although there is no obvious ditch visible around the barrow, a 3m margin surrounding the mound is included to allow for its likely survival. This is because excavations of other examples in the region have shown that, even where no encircling depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately around the outside of the mound frequently survive as infilled features, containing additional archaeological deposits. The wayside cross marks a medieval route way across the moor between Lastingham and the site of Rosedale Priory. A deeply incised hollow way skirts the western side of the barrow heading towards the modern village of Rosedale Abbey. The current cross, which at one time was known as Ain or One Howe Cross, but now more generally as Ana Cross, dates to 1949 when the original medieval cross was removed to the crypt of Lastingham Church. It was repaired in the summer of 1998 after its collapse in the winter of 1995. The cross stands approximately 3m high and is set into a pair of equally sized socket stones 0.35m thick which are joined by two iron ties to form a base 1.25m by 2.75m. The foot of this base is some 0.3m above the surrounding ground surface and has been underpinned with cemented stonework. The cross is Listed Grade II.

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:

32654

Legacy System:

RSM

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