Reasons for Designation
Square barrows are funerary monuments of the Middle Iron Age, most examples
dating from the period between c.500 BC and c.50 BC. The majority of these
monuments are found in the area between the River Humber and the southern
slopes of the North Yorkshire Moors but a wider distribution has also been
identified, principally through aerial photography, spreading through the
river valleys of the Midlands and south Essex. Around 200 square barrow
cemeteries have been recorded; in addition, a further 250 sites consisting of
single barrows or small groups of barrows have been identified.
Square barrows, which may be square or rectangular, were constructed as
earthen mounds surrounded by a ditch and covering one or more bodies. Slight
banks around the outer edge of the ditch have been noted in some examples. The
main burial is normally central and carefully placed in a rectangular or oval
grave pit, although burials placed on the ground surface below the mound are
also known.
A number of different types of burial have been identified, accompanied by
grave goods which vary greatly in range and type. The most elaborate include
the dismantled parts of a two-wheeled vehicle placed in the grave with the
body of the deceased.
Ploughing and intensive land use since prehistoric times have eroded and
levelled most square barrows and very few remain as upstanding monuments,
although the ditches and the grave pits, with their contents, will survive
beneath the ground surface. The different forms of burial and the variations
in the type and range of artefacts placed in the graves provide important
information on the beliefs, social organisation and material culture of these
Iron Age communities and their development over time. All examples of square
barrows which survive as upstanding earthworks, and a significant proportion
of the remainder, are considered of national importance and worthy of
protection.
Details
The monument includes a square barrow situated on level ground towards the
eastern edge of the Hackness Hills.
The barrow has a flat-topped earth and stone mound which stands up to 0.8m
high. It is sub-rectangular in plan, oriented north to south, and measures 7m
by 5m. The mound was originally surrounded by a ditch up to 2m wide but this
has become in-filled over the years by soil slipping from the mound so that it
is no longer visible as an earthwork. The outer edge of the buried ditch has
been clipped on the west side by an old hollow way which runs in a north west
to south east direction.
The barrow lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric burial
monuments, including both round and square barrows, as well as the remains of
prehistoric land division.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
34550
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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.
End of official list entry
