Details

The monument includes two adjacent cairns situated on a south facing slope
overlooking the lower reaches of Arkengarthdale. The ring cairn includes a
circular stone built bank, well defined on the north and east sides but worn
away on the south west side. The bank has a width of 3m and maximum height of
0.3m. It is partially turf covered but largely consists of exposed stones. The
monument has a diameter of 10.5m.
A small round cairn 6.8m in diameter is situated 3m north east of the ring
cairn. It includes a mound of exposed stones 0.6m high with turf covered areas
around the edges.

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

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of
stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may
be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small
uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of
England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground
level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial
photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples.
Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are
interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact
nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has
revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and
pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial
rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the
number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available
evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a
relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form,
all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological
deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

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. 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 to be worthy of protection.
Both the round cairn and adjacent ring cairn on Low Moor, 460m NNW of High
Eskeleth remain largely well preserved, containing further archaeological
remains. Therefore information on the relationship between the two sites will
be preserved.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Laurie, T, (1993)
Laurie, T, (1993)

Source: Historic England