Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

East Heslerton Brow barrow group: a bowl barrow 1.3km east of Manor Wold Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Sherburn, North Yorkshire

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 54.1652 / 54°9'54"N

Longitude: -0.5584 / 0°33'30"W

OS Eastings: 494220.960647

OS Northings: 475341.683395

OS Grid: SE942753

Mapcode National: GBR SNJ8.XM

Mapcode Global: WHGCJ.DKCQ

Entry Name: East Heslerton Brow barrow group: a bowl barrow 1.3km east of Manor Wold Farm

Scheduled Date: 6 August 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1011579

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20560

County: North Yorkshire

Civil Parish: Sherburn

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): North Yorkshire

Church of England Parish: West Heslerton All Saints

Church of England Diocese: York

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow which is one of several barrows situated
on the northern edge of East Heslerton Wold. This bowl barrow lies 150m south
of a ploughed-out linear boundary dyke and 300m north-east of an earlier long
barrow.
Although altered by agricultural activity, the barrow is still visible as a
mound 0.3m high and 28m in diameter, surrounded by a 15m wide ditch. Although
it has become infilled over the years the ditch is visible as a slight
depression containing darker soil and has been identified on aerial
photographs. Unusually, the barrow also has an outer bank which is ploughed
flat but remains visible as a 16m wide spread of chalky soil on the outer edge
of the ditch; the total diameter of the barrow is 70m.

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.

The barrow 1.3km east of Manor Wold Farm differs from the usual form of bowl
barrow in having a bank on the outer rim of the quarry ditch. Although this
barrow has been partially altered by agricultural activity, it survives as an
earthwork and the partially infilled quarry ditch has also been observed on
aerial photographs. As there is no evidence that the barrow has ever been
excavated, the infilled ditch and burials in deep grave pits will survive
intact.
The monument is one of a closely associated group of barrows which have
further associations with broadly contemporary boundary earthworks in the
vicinity of East Heslerton Wold. Similar groups of monuments are also known
from other parts of the Wolds and from the southern edge of the North York
Moors. Such associations between monuments offer important scope for the study
of the division of land for social, ritual and agricultural purposes in
different geographical areas during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Stoertz, K, (1992)

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.