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Three round cairns, 500m east of King's Crags

A Scheduled Monument in Simonburn, Northumberland

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Coordinates

Latitude: 55.0351 / 55°2'6"N

Longitude: -2.3094 / 2°18'33"W

OS Eastings: 380324.198543

OS Northings: 571218.444532

OS Grid: NY803712

Mapcode National: GBR DB96.TV

Mapcode Global: WH90R.HPJW

Entry Name: Three round cairns, 500m east of King's Crags

Scheduled Date: 9 March 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1011075

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20975

County: Northumberland

Civil Parish: Simonburn

Traditional County: Northumberland

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Northumberland

Church of England Parish: Simonburn

Church of England Diocese: Newcastle

Details

The monument includes three round cairns of Bronze Age date situated in a line
at the eastern end of a ridge. The first cairn is 10m in diameter and 0.6m
high and has traces of a stone kerb around its perimeter. Three metres to the
east is a second round cairn 8m in diameter and 0.6m high; a recent stone
clearance mound has been placed on its north-west quadrant. The third round
cairn lies immediately east of the second and is 3.5m in diameter and 0.6m
high.

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 three round cairns east of King's Crags survive well. Evidence of the
manner of construction, and the nature and duration of their use will be
preserved within and beneath the mounds. The monument is one of a number of
contemporary monuments in the vicinity; taken together these monuments provide
a clear indication of the extent of Bronze Age settlement in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
5407,

Source: Historic England

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