Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated in a prominent position on the
north of the Hambleton Hills overlooking Bilsdale.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing 0.5m high. It is round in
shape and 6m in diameter. In the centre of the mound is a slight depression
resulting from investigations of the mound in the past. The mound was
surrounded by a ditch up to 3m wide which has become filled in over the
years and is no longer visible as an earthwork.
It is one of many similar barrows on this area of the Hambleton Hills. Many of
these lie in closely associated groups, particularly along the watersheds.
They provide evidence of territorial organisation marking divisions of land;
divisions which still remain as some parish or township 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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations 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 this barrow has survived well. Significant
information about the original form of the barrow and the burials placed
within it will be preserved. Evidence of earlier land use will also survive
beneath the barrow mound.
Together with other barrows in the area it is thought to also represent a
territorial marker. Similar groups of monuments are also known across the west
and central areas of the North York Moors, providing an important insight into
burial practice. Such groupings of monuments offer important scope for the
study of the division of land for social and ritual purposes in different
geographical areas during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, (1989), 98-122

Source: Historic England