Round barrow on Derwent Head Rigg, 200m east of High Woof Howe

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019377
Date first listed:: 21-Jan-1970

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019377
Date first listed:: 21-Jan-1970
Date of most recent amendment:: 09-Nov-2000

Location

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

District:: North Yorkshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Darncombe-cum-Langdale End
National Park:: NORTH YORK MOORS
National Grid Reference:: SE 89474 96806

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 round barrow on Derwent Head Rigg, 200m east of High Woof Howe, 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.

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 0.9m high and measures 8m in diameter. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow caused by partial excavation in the past. 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:: 34176
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)

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.