Long barrow 630m north west of Scamridge Farm

Reasons for Designation

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and, consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be nationally important.

Despite limited disturbance, the long barrow 630m north west of Scamridge Farm has survived well. Significant information about the original form of the barrow, the burials placed within it and the rituals associated with its use will be preserved. Evidence for earlier land use and the contemporary environment will also survive beneath the barrow mound and within the buried ditches. The barrow is one of at least four long barrows in this area which are situated within less than 1km of each other. This is a much greater concentration than anywhere else on the North York Moors and Tabular Hills and provides valuable insight into Neolithic ritual and funerary activity. The area also has many other prehistoric burial monuments, dating from the Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as a complex network of prehistoric land boundaries. The relationships between these monuments and the Neolithic long barrows are important for understanding the development and use of the landscape for different purposes during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes a long barrow which is situated on a gentle south east facing slope on the southern dip slopes of the Tabular Hills. The barrow has an earth and stone mound which is 46m long and is oriented east to west. Formerly, the width of the mound tapered from 17m at the eastern end to 14m at the western end, but ploughing has truncated the mound edges, especially on the northern side, so that now it measures 15m at the eastern end and 11m at the western end. The mound stands up to 1.5m high at both ends, although it would have been higher at the eastern end when it was built. Part excavation by Canon Greenwell in the 19th century has left the surface of the mound irregular with shallow depressions. His investigations uncovered the disarticulated remains of 14 individuals. The line of an old field boundary, which marked the division between the parishes of Allerston and Ebberston and Yedingham, is visible running across the western side of the mound in a north to south direction. The mound was constructed with material from flanking quarry ditches, which would have been up to 5m wide. However, these have become filled in over the years by soil slipping from the mound so that they are no longer visible as earthworks. Originally there would have been a forecourt area in front of the eastern, higher end of the mound, where rituals relating to the use of the monument would have taken place. Traces of these activities will survive below the ground surface as pits, post-holes or hearths, although nothing is visible above the ground. The barrow lies in an area where there is a concentration of Neolithic monuments, including further long barrows, which is surrounded by many other prehistoric burial monuments and a network of prehistoric land boundaries.

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:

35440

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, Vol. 87, (1993)
Rutter, J G, Transactions of the Scarborough and District Archaeological Soc in Survey of Linear Earthworks and Associated Enclosures in North, Vol. 2.12, (1969), 11

Other
Pacitto, A L, AM107, (1984)

End of official list entry

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