Reasons for Designation
Round barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to
the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC.
They were constructed as earthen mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of burials in later periods. Often
superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit
regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are
over 10,000 surviving examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the
diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric
communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a
substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
The Tabular Hills in the Wykeham Forest area contain a dense concentration of
prehistoric monuments, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, which
includes field systems, enclosures and land boundaries as well as both round
and square barrows. The spatial and chronological relationships between the
round and square barrows in this area, and between both types of barrow and
other prehistoric monuments, are of considerable importance for understanding
the development of later prehistoric society in eastern Yorkshire.
The importance of the round barrow in Wykeham Forest, 850m WNW of Loft Howe is
enhanced by its spatial association with a number of other prehistoric
monuments. It was originally one of a group of five burial monuments, of which
only two survive. Such clusters provide important insight into the development
of ritual and funerary practice during the Bronze Age.
Details
The monument includes a round barrow situated on level ground towards the
north edge of the Tabular Hills.
The barrow has an earth and stone mound standing up to 0.6m high. It is round
in shape and measures 7m in diameter, although formerly it measured up to 10m
in diameter and has been reduced in size by forestry ploughing. Whilst the
upstanding remains of the barrow have been reduced by ploughing, below ground
remains may survive intact and hence the full extent of the barrow, as
originally recorded, is included in the protected area. Running across the
centre of the mound in an east to west direction there is a linear hollow
caused by excavations in the past, dividing the mound into two.
The barrow lies within a dense concentration of prehistoric burial monuments
in an area which also includes the remains of prehistoric settlement and land
division.
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.
