Northern of two round barrows known as Row Howes, 640m south east of East Moor Farm

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.

The Tabular Hills in the Wykeham Forest area contain a dense concentration of prehistoric monuments, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, which includes field systems, enclosures and land boundaries as well as both round and square barrows. The spatial and chronological relationships between the round and square barrows in this area, and between both types of barrow and other prehistoric monuments, are of considerable importance for understanding the development of later prehistoric society in eastern Yorkshire. Despite limited disturbance, this barrow 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 and the contemporary environment will also survive beneath the barrow mound and within the buried ditch. The northern of two round barrows known as one of the Row Howes, 640m south east of East Moor Farm, is one of a pair of burial monuments and such clusters provide important insight into the development of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position on a gentle south-facing slope on the Tabular Hills, at the top of Sawdon Dale. The barrow has an earthen mound which has been spread by ploughing and measures up to 42m in diameter. It stands up to 1.4m high. The barrow was originally surrounded by a ditch up to 3m wide but this has become filled in over the years by soil slipping from the mound and is no longer visible as an earthwork. The barrow is one of a pair and lies within a dense concentration of prehistoric burial monuments, in an area which also includes the remains of prehistoric settlement and land division.

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:

34168

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, Vol. 87, (1993)

Other
Craster, OE, AM7, (1967)

End of official list entry

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