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.
Details
The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial
mound, located on the line of the old Commondale-Danby parish boundary, 600m
north east of the centre of Commondale.
Sand Hill round cairn survives as a 16m diameter stone and sandy earth mound
up to 0.7m high. On its western flank there are two exposed kerb stones, and
there is evidence for further concealed kerb stones around the rest of the
circuit. At the centre of the cairn there is a 0.3m by 0.2m standing stone
rising 0.8m above the top of the mound. This was formerly used as a parish
boundary stone. The monument is sited on a level area of ground some 200m to
the north and west of the top of the scarp above the River Esk.
Excavations of other barrows has shown that even where no encircling
depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately
around the outside of cairns frequently survive as infilled features,
containing additional archaeological deposits.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
30165
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
