Round barrow at Lady Cross, 730m south west of Dun Bogs

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1019076

Date first listed: 16-May-1963

Date of most recent amendment: 29-Oct-1999

Location

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

National Park: NORTH YORK MOORS

National Grid Reference: NZ 81412 08371

Summary

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

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.

Despite limited disturbance, the barrow at Lady Cross Gate, 730m south west of Dun Bogs has survived well. Significant information about the original form of the barrow and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence for earlier land use will also survive beneath the barrow mound. Together with other burial monuments in the area this barrow is thought to represent a territorial marker. Similar monument groups are known across the west and central areas of the North York Moors and provide valuable insight into burial practice and land division for social and ritual purposes.

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position at the top of a north-facing slope at the northern edge of the North York Moors. The barrow has an earthen mound which is 14m in diameter and stands up to 1.2m high. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by excavations in the past. The barrow lies in an area where there are many prehistoric monuments, including further barrows and clearance cairns.

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: 32489

Legacy System: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 84
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)
Other
7489,

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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.