Register of ancient monuments
Reference number 1018810
Cairn On Midgley Moor
Height Road
Mytholmroyd
Hebden Bridge
Calderdale
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT
The monument includes a large cairn on Midgley Moor, near the southern edge of a natural terrace 400m NNE of Upper Han Royd. The cairn measures 16m in diameter and 0.8m in height. The centre of the cairn has had stone removed in the past, leaving a broad hollow giving the appearance of a circular bank.
ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE
Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c2000-700 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 earthern 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.
The cairn 400m north east of Upper Han Royd survives well and will retain important archaeological information.
