Details

The monument includes two adjacent round cairns situated on a moorland ridge
on the edge of the North York Moors. The more westerly cairn has an ovoid
stone mound which is now largely buried by peat. It measures 5m north to south
and 4m east to west and stands up to 0.4m high. There is a slight hollow in
the centre caused by past excavations. The second cairn lies 12m to the east
and has a stone mound which is also buried by peat. It is 6m in diameter and
stands up to 0.4m high. It incorporates a flat natural boulder at its east
side.
The cairns belong to a group of seven spread along the ridge and they lie in
an area rich in prehistoric monuments, including further burial monuments,
field systems and clearance cairns.

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

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 importance of the two cairns 820m south east of Hanging Stone is enhanced
by their association with other round cairns in the area. They belong to a
group of seven burial monuments and such clusters provide important insight
into the development of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze Age.
They are also situated within an area which includes other groups of burial
monuments as well as field systems, enclosures and clearance cairns.
Associated groups of monuments such as these offer important scope for the
study of the distribution of prehistoric activity across the landscape.

Source: Historic England

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)
Other
Fairless, K J, AM107, (1987)

Source: Historic England