Ancient Monuments

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Hollin Stump round cairn

A Scheduled Monument in Asby, Cumbria

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.4989 / 54°29'55"N

Longitude: -2.5387 / 2°32'19"W

OS Eastings: 365209.376103

OS Northings: 511638.452289

OS Grid: NY652116

Mapcode National: GBR BJQF.51

Mapcode Global: WH93B.Z58X

Entry Name: Hollin Stump round cairn

Scheduled Date: 8 February 1965

Last Amended: 4 February 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1011152

English Heritage Legacy ID: 23622

County: Cumbria

Civil Parish: Asby

Traditional County: Westmorland

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cumbria

Church of England Parish: Asby St Peter

Church of England Diocese: Carlisle

Details

The monument is Hollin Stump round cairn located on flat land east of
Gaythorne Plain. It includes a mutilated oval mound of partly turf-covered
limestone rubble up to 1.5m high with maximum dimensions of 22.5m by 21m. At
the cairn's centre is a sub-rectangular hollow measuring approximately 3.2m by
2.4m and 0.4m deep that is connected to the eastern edge of the cairn by a
rubble-filled trench 2m wide. This disturbance marks the site of an
antiquarian investigation which located human bones contained in a cist of
sandstone slabs, two skeletons orientated east-west, a second cist beneath
which was another skeleton lying on its right side in a bent position, a
horse's skull and an 'ancient pocket knife' with a pointed blade 3.5 inches
long. Three Shap pink granite boulders arranged around the north-eastern edge
of the cairn are the remains of a kerb.

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 minor mutilation of the monument's northern and southern edges by
quarrying and limited antiquarian investigation of the mound, Hollin Stump
round cairn survives reasonably well. This investigation located human and
faunal remains and further evidence of interments will exist within the mound
and upon the old land surface beneath.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Greenwell, W , British Barrows, (1877), 398
'Carlisle Journal' in Carlisle Journal, (1829)
Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No. 1775, Cumbria SMR, Hollins Stump Round Barrow, (1985)

Source: Historic England

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