Round barrow on Beadlam Rigg, 490m west of Stone Ruckles round barrow

List Entry Summary

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.

Location

The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Asset Groupings

This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument

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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 majority of round barrows in the region were dug into by 19th century antiquarians in search of burials and artifacts, leaving behind a central depression as evidence of their work. However excavations in the latter half of the 20th century have shown that round barrows typically contain archaeological information that survives earlier digging. Secondary burials tend to be located within the main body of the mound and sometimes one of these was mistaken for the primary burial which was usual the goal of the antiquarian. Even when the primary burial has been excavated, further secondary burials often survive in the undisturbed surrounding part of the mound and infilled ditch. Additional valuable information about the mound's construction and the local environment at the time of its construction will also survive antiquarian excavation. The round barrow on Beadlam Rigg, 490m west of Stone Ruckles round barrow is a good example of a small, less prominently placed burial mound which will retain important information about Bronze Age society in the area.

History

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Details

The monument includes earthwork and associated buried remains of a prehistoric burial mound sited on the uphill, northern end of Beadlam Rigg. The round barrow is sited on gently sloping, west facing ground overlooking the head of Pinderdale Howl, the steep sided gully dividing Pockley and Beadlam Riggs. It is not prominently located and not intervisible with Stone Ruckles round barrow to the east. However it is intervisible with the site of the southern barrow on Birk Nab 520m to the NNW. The barrow survives as an 11m diameter mound standing up to 0.6m high with a central hollow 4m in diameter which is interpreted to be the result of excavation in the past. From a surface inspection the barrow appears to have a high stone content, with stones typically around 0.15m across. There is also evidence that the barrow has an outer kerbing of larger stone slabs up to 0.5m across. Excavation of other examples of round barrows in the region have shown that even where no encircling depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately around the outside of the mound frequently survive as infilled features, containing additional archaeological deposits. A margin to allow for such an infilled ditch up to 2m wide is thus also included within the monument.

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.

Selected Sources

National Grid Reference: SE 62713 90600

Map

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This copy shows the entry on 25-Apr-2018 at 03:50:46.