Ancient Monuments

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Round cairn on White Raise

A Scheduled Monument in Shap Rural, Cumbria

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.5141 / 54°30'50"N

Longitude: -2.7202 / 2°43'12"W

OS Eastings: 353468.268686

OS Northings: 513439.639435

OS Grid: NY534134

Mapcode National: GBR 9JF7.WL

Mapcode Global: WH81Y.5SXS

Entry Name: Round cairn on White Raise

Scheduled Date: 22 February 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1007610

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22491

County: Cumbria

Civil Parish: Shap Rural

Traditional County: Westmorland

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cumbria

Church of England Parish: Shap with Swindale St Michael

Church of England Diocese: Carlisle

Details

The monument is a round cairn located on a plateau on the open fell a short
distance west of the summit of White Raise. It includes a slightly oval mound
of stones up to 1.5m high with maximum dimensions of 15m by 14m. Limited
antiquarian investigation located calcined bones and fragments of an urn.

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.

Despite limited antiquarian investigation of the monument's centre the round
cairn on White Raise survives reasonably well. This investigation located
human remains together with fragments of pottery, and further evidence of
interments and grave goods will exist within the cairn and upon the old
landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No 1571, Cumbria SMR, Rafland Forest, (1985)

Source: Historic England

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