Round cairn on Cowgate Rigg, 790m 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 on Cowgate Rigg, 790m 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 was originally one of four distributed across Cowgate Rigg. It is situated within an area which also includes other groups of burial monuments as well as field systems and clearance cairns. 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 a gentle south west-facing slope. It lies on Middle Jurassic sandstone towards the eastern edge of the North York Moors. The cairn has a stony mound which stands up to 0.7m high and measures 14m in diameter. Originally the mound was surrounded by a kerb of stones which supported it and defined the cairn. A few of these are visible around the mound edge in the north eastern sector, but elsewhere they have been disturbed by forestry ploughing or buried by soil accumulating over the years and can no longer be seen. In the centre of the mound there is a hollow left by partial excavation in the past. The round cairn lies in an area where there are many other 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:

34671

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Forestry Commission Areas North York Moors Archaeological Survey Source Date: 1992 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Site 5.13
7870,

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