Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a cairnfield located
on high ground in the middle of Sneaton Low Moor. This lies at the eastern
side of the sandstone, heather covered moor characteristic of the North York
Moors. Today the moor is little used but archaeological evidence indicates
that this has not always been the case. The prehistoric period in particular
saw extensive agricultural and ceremonial use of the area. Remains of these
activities survive today.
The cairnfield occupies undulating ground to the east of an area of boggy
ground. It includes at least 17 cairns broadly clustered into two groups. It
extends over an area of approximately 150m by 350m. The cairns are composed of
stony mounds measuring up to 5m in diameter and up to 0.5m in height. These
are the result of stone clearance in the Bronze Age to improve the land for
farming. Evidence from other similar monuments in the north of England shows
that such cairns may also have be used for burials. The settlement from which
this area of land was farmed has yet to be identified but it is thought to
have been located nearby.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 10 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Cairnfields are concentrations of cairns sited in close proximity to one
another. They often consist largely of clearance cairns, built with stone
cleared from the surrounding landsurface to improve its use for agriculture,
and on occasion their distribution pattern can be seen to define field plots.
However, funerary cairns are also frequently incorporated, although without
excavation it may be impossible to determine which cairns contain burials.
Clearance cairns were constructed from the Neolithic period (from c.3400 BC),
although the majority of examples appear to be the result of field clearance
which began during the earlier Bronze Age and continued into the later Bronze
Age (2000-700 BC). The considerable longevity and variation in the size,
content and associations of cairnfields provide important information on the
development of land use and agricultural practices. Cairnfields also retain
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation during the
prehistoric period.

The cairnfield 350m south west of Foulsike Farm has survived well. Significant
information about the original form of the cairns, any burials placed within
them and its relationship with other monuments will be preserved. Evidence of
earlier land use will also survive beneath the cairns.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A, Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, (1994)

Source: Historic England