Round cairn 110m south west of Bartomley 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.

The round cairn 110m south west of Bartomley Farm is in reasonably good condition in spite of some truncation by ploughing, which has resulted in giving it a square shape at the base. Pits have been dug into the mound in the past, but it is clear that the central deposits will remain undisturbed by these activities. The cairn is located on the line of a well-used public footpath and will therefore provide a source of enjoyment of the historical landscape and education for the public.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn, marking a late Bronze Age burial, situated on the western side of the Dane Valley north of Danebridge. The structure has been built against a natural gritstone outcrop on its east side.

The cairn is 17m in diameter at the base and stands about 1.8m high. It is not circular, but roughly square-shaped at the base. It is constructed of small and medium-sized stones (0.1m-0.3m in diameter) packed into a steep- sided mound. The base has been truncated by ploughing in the past and on the south side a pit has been dug into the base of the mound for 6m towards the centre. In the centre of the mound, at the top, a second pit has been dug into the stones measuring 0.5m deep and 2.5m wide. These pits are the result of attempts to locate buried remains in the past.

During the 19th century, ploughing close to the base of the mound revealed a number of gold objects of Roman provenance which were dispersed for sale. It is unclear whether this was a hoard, buried in difficult times at a prominent landmark for subsequent retrieval, or a votive deposit at a burial site.

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:

33882

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of, (1980), 214

End of official list entry

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