Long cairn on the south western slope of Dod Hill, 1km north east of The Dod

Reasons for Designation

Long cairns were constructed as elongated rubble mounds and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (c.3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long cairns appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Long cairns sometimes display evidence of internal structural arrangements, including stone-lined compartments and tomb chambers constructed from massive slabs. Some examples also show edge-set kerb stones bounding parts of the cairn perimeter. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funeral activity preceding construction of the cairn, and consequently it is probable that long cairns acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of long cairns and long barrows, their counterparts in central and eastern England, are recorded nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as a visible monument and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all positively identified long cairns are considered to be nationally important.

The long cairn on the south western slope of Dod Hill, 1km north east of The Dod is well preserved and retains significant archaeological deposits. It is a rare monument class in Northumberland and extends the distribution of long cairns into the north Cheviots. It will contribute to the study of Bronze Age burial and land use in this area.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a long cairn of Bronze Age date. It is located on the southern slopes of Dod Hill above the Lilburn Burn and has extensive views to the south and east. The adjacent prehistoric and medieval sites are the subject of separate schedulings. The cairn is triangular in plan and aligned NNW by SSE. It measures 24m long, with its widest point at the uphill, northern end measuring 14m wide and standing up to 1.5m high. The cairn is formed of earth and stone.

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:

31744

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Gates, T, Archaeologia Aeliana in A Long Cairn On Dod Hill, Ilderton, Northumberland, Vol. 5 ser 10, (1982), 210-11

End of official list entry

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