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Hanging Grimston barrow group: three bowl barrows 600m south west of Thixendale Grange

A Scheduled Monument in Thixendale, North Yorkshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.0336 / 54°2'0"N

Longitude: -0.7576 / 0°45'27"W

OS Eastings: 481470.802909

OS Northings: 460448.63407

OS Grid: SE814604

Mapcode National: GBR RP4S.ST

Mapcode Global: WHFBW.BWH4

Entry Name: Hanging Grimston barrow group: three bowl barrows 600m south west of Thixendale Grange

Scheduled Date: 9 September 1958

Last Amended: 18 August 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1008483

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20574

County: North Yorkshire

Civil Parish: Thixendale

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): North Yorkshire

Church of England Parish: Thixendale St Mary

Church of England Diocese: York

Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows which are among several situated on
the south eastern spur of Deepdale Wold. These barrows also lie between 40m
and 80m east of the later Roman road between Malton and Brough; the
distribution of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds parallel to the road is
evidence that the Romans were continuing to use an established prehistoric
route across the Wolds.

Although all three barrows have been altered by agricultural activity, the
largest barrow is still visible as a mound 1m high and 30m in diameter. The
ditch surrounding the mound was partially excavated by J R Mortimer in 1868
and found to be 4.5m wide by 2m deep, with a diameter of 37m; although it has
become infilled over the years and is no longer visible at ground level, this
ditch has also been identified on aerial photographs.

A second barrow lies 60m south of the first; this is visible as a mound 0.5m
high and 20m in diameter. The infilled ditch surrounding the mound has been
identified on aerial photographs and has a maximum diameter of 33m.

The third barrow is located 50m north west of the first; it is 0.3m high and
24m in diameter. Although the ditch has been covered by the gradual spreading
of the barrow mound, it is visible on aerial photographs and has a diameter of
22m.

The barrow were recorded and partially excavated by J R Mortimer between 1864
and 1868.

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.

Although these barrows have been partially altered by agricultural activity,
they are still clearly visible and were also comparatively well documented
during a campaign of fieldwork in the 19th century. Further evidence of the
structure of each barrow (the mound, the surrounding ditch, grave pits and
burials) will survive and the areas between the mounds will retain evidence
for ritual activity in the vicinity of the barrows, during their construction
and subsequent use.

The monument is one of a closely associated group of barrows which have
further associations with broadly contemporary boundary earthworks in the
vicinity of Hanging Grimston. 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. Additionally, some of the
barrows in the Hanging Grimston area are distributed parallel to a line later
adopted by a Roman road; this distribution implies a degree of continuity of
land divisions from at least the Early Bronze Age into the Roman period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Mortimer, J R , Forty Years Researches in British and Saxon Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905), 108
Mortimer, J R , Forty Years Researches in British and Saxon Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905), 106-7
Other
Stoertz C, RCHME unpublished survey (1992), 1992,

Source: Historic England

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