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Ring cairn known as the Ring of Stones on Ringstone Edge Moor, 800m south of Upper Gosling Royd

A Scheduled Monument in Ripponden, Calderdale

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Coordinates

Latitude: 53.6607 / 53°39'38"N

Longitude: -1.9343 / 1°56'3"W

OS Eastings: 404435.050725

OS Northings: 418251.151456

OS Grid: SE044182

Mapcode National: GBR GVY3.0G

Mapcode Global: WHB8V.874Y

Entry Name: Ring cairn known as the Ring of Stones on Ringstone Edge Moor, 800m south of Upper Gosling Royd

Scheduled Date: 8 March 1963

Last Amended: 21 January 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1018559

English Heritage Legacy ID: 31508

County: Calderdale

Civil Parish: Ripponden

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Yorkshire

Church of England Parish: Barkisland Christ Church

Church of England Diocese: Leeds

Details

The monument includes a ring cairn located in improved pasture on Ringstone
Edge Moor, Barkisland. The ring cairn survives as a low circular stony bank,
approximately 28m in total diameter. The bank is typically 4m wide and 0.1m
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

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of
stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may
be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small
uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of
England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground
level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial
photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples.
Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are
interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact
nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has
revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and
pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial
rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the
number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available
evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a
relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form,
all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological
deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

Although the ring cairn known as the Ring of Stones has been damaged by recent
ploughing, it will retain important archaeological information, including
evidence of its relationship to other cairns in the Ringstone Edge area.

Source: Historic England

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