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Round cairn 830m SSE of Ewartly

A Scheduled Monument in Alnham, Northumberland

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Coordinates

Latitude: 55.4084 / 55°24'30"N

Longitude: -2.0589 / 2°3'32"W

OS Eastings: 396368.077

OS Northings: 612723.844

OS Grid: NT963127

Mapcode National: GBR G52X.11

Mapcode Global: WHB08.BBT5

Entry Name: Round cairn 830m SSE of Ewartly

Scheduled Date: 10 October 2001

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1020249

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32770

County: Northumberland

Civil Parish: Alnham

Traditional County: Northumberland

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Northumberland

Church of England Parish: Upper Coquetdale

Church of England Diocese: Newcastle

Details

The monument includes the upstanding and buried remains of a round cairn of
Bronze Age date, situated in a prominent position on a west facing slope.
Further prehistoric cairns and settlements in the vicinity are the subjects of
separate schedulings. The round cairn, which is roughly circular in shape
measures 7.5m east to west by 6.5m and stands to a maximum height of 1m on its
western side. There is evidence of unrecorded investigation in the past at the
centre of the cairn visible as two hollows 0.3m and 0.4m deep. The cairn was
built of stone and earth and part of the matrix of the cairn is visible within
these hollows. The north western side of the cairn has also been disturbed in
the past; further stones have been revealed including one 0.65m long by 0.4m
wide, thought to be part of a surrounding kerb marking the perimeter of the
cairn.

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

In a densely settled and highly developed country such as England, the
landscapes of all but the most bleak mountain summits are, to varying degrees,
the product of centuries and millennia of human development. Except in areas
today considered to be marginal, most traces of the earliest stages in this
process have been erased or modified by later development and only survive in
a fragmentary manner. The prehistoric settlement remains that survive beyond
the margins of more recent cultivation in upland areas such as the Cheviots
provide a rare opportunity to recognise the prehistoric shape of the
landscape.
The Breamish Valley is one of the main valleys draining the Cheviot Massif.
Because of comprehensive field survey during the 1980s, it is also one of the
best recorded upland areas in England. The field evidence for human activity
within the valley is diverse and spans at least five millennia from the
Neolithic to the post-medieval period. Of particular importance are the well-
preserved and extensive upland prehistoric remains, including settlements,
field systems and cairnfields. On the enclosed land within the valley,
archaeological remains are more fragmentary, but they survive sufficiently
well to show that human activity extended below what is now open fell land.
Due to excellent state of survival, their archaeological integrity, and their
rarity in a national context, most recorded prehistoric and later monuments
within the Breamish Valley will be identified as nationally important.

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 in 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 the fact that it has been partially disturbed, the round cairn 830m
SSE of Ewartly is reasonably well-preserved. Evidence of the manner of its
construction and the duration of its use will be contained within the mound.
The presence of human remains and associated grave goods will inform our
understanding of Bronze Age beliefs and burial rites. Important information
about the environment in which the cairn was constructed will survive beneath
the mound. The importance of the round cairn is enhanced by its proximity to
other prehistoric cairns and settlements, which taken together will add
greatly to our understanding of the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
NT91SE 140,

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

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