High Woof Howe round barrow at Derwent Head Rigg

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, High Woof round 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. The barrow is one of a group of three burial monuments and such clusters provide important insight into the development of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze Age. Together with other barrows in the area, it is thought to represent a territorial marker. Similar groups of monuments are also known across the west and central areas of the North York Moors. Such groupings of monuments offer important scope for the study of land division for social and ritual purposes in different geographical areas during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a formerly prominent position, now surrounded by trees, in Langdale Forest overlooking the head of the River Derwent. The barrow has an earth and stone mound which stands up to 2m high. The mound was originally 24m in diameter, but is now oval-shaped with a maximum dimension of 36m in a north to south direction, because of the construction of a shooting box on the south side and augmentation by spoil from partial excavation in the past. There are hollows caused by this past excavation in the centre of the mound. On the south side of the central excavation hollow there is a boundary stone, bearing on its south eastern face the inscription `By Order of the Commissioner of Wykeham Inclosure 1786'. The top left hand corner of the boundary stone has been broken off, obscuring the first line of the inscription. The barrow lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments including further round barrows, field systems 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:

34174

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, O E, AM 7, (1967)

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