Round cairn in Harwood Dale Forest, 540m south west of Teydale Farm

Reasons for Designation

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation 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 cairn in Harwood Dale Forest, 540m south west of Teydale Farm has survived well. Significant information about the original form of the cairn and the burials placed within it will be preserved. Evidence for earlier land use and the contemporary environment will also survive beneath the stony mound. The cairn lies in an area where there are many other prehistoric burial monuments. The association with similar monuments provides insight into the distribution of ritual and funerary activity across the landscape during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn situated on level ground at the top of a gentle south-facing slope. It lies on Middle Jurassic sandstone towards the eastern edge of the North York Moors. The cairn has a well-defined stony mound which stands up to 0.9m high. Formerly it had a diameter of 14m, but this has been reduced by forestry ploughing at the edges so that now it measures only 11m. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow left by partial excavation in the past. The full extent of the original distance is included in the area of protection. The round cairn lies in an area where there are many prehistoric monuments, including funerary and ritual monuments as well as 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:

34575

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Forestry Commission Areas North York Moors Archaeological Survey Source Date: 1992 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Site 5.12
7869,

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