| Summary : A Bronze Age burial cairn known locally as Prettyhut Howe. The cairn was excavated in June 1864 by Atkinson, who found a short cist containing an empty upright food vessel with cord-impressed decoration. Nearer the centre a secondary cremation burial was uncovered. Finds included an unburnt trapezoidal knife, a burnt spearhead and a burnt leaf-shaped arrowhead. Originally about 12m in diameter, the cairn has recently (post-1974) been bulldozed from the south end, and is now horseshoe shaped. The heavily truncated cairn was mapped from air photographs as part of the North York Moors NMP, and is extant on the latest 2009 vertical photography. |
More information : (NZ 63441234) Tumulus (NR). (1)
A tumulus, known locally as Prettyhut Howe, which was one of the
Ordnance Surveyors' stations at 1079 ft was excavated in June 1864
by Atkinson. Despite extensive disturbance of the mound by the
surveyors in search of stones to build their watcher's hut, the
removal of all but one or two stones of a peristalith and the
penetration of the centre of the cairn to its base, Atkinson found a
short cist in its SE quadrant 12 1/2 feet from the centre. In it
was an empty, upright food vessel 5 inches diameter across its mouth
and less than 6 inches high, with cord-impressed decoration. About
7 feet nearer the centre a secondary cremation burial with an
unburnt trapezoidal knife and a burnt spearhead was found at a
depth of 2 1/2 feet from the surface. A burnt leaf-shaped
arrowhead was found on the outside of the barrow before its
excavation suggesting that the surveyors had distuurbed another
cremation burial.
The tumulus at NZ 63441234 (NZ 61 SW 4'A') is marked as a
triangulation point at 1077.5 feet on OS 6" 1856. (2)
Although the barrow at NZ 63441234 (NZ 61 SW 4A) is the recorded OS
triangulation point, it is still virtually undisturbed and in no way
answers the description of that excavated by Atkinson. This latter
appears to be sited a NZ 62781267 at approximately 1050 ft, where
the remains of a rectangular stone-walled hut 5.0m by 4.0m is built
into a residual turf-covered mound. Nothing of the original cairn
survives. The application of the name 'Prettyhut Howe' to this
mound, however, could not be confirmed. Surveyed at 1:10 000. (3)
0199 Pretty Hut Howe, Guisborough NZ 6278 1267.
This mound, situated at 320m O.D. in open moorland, is identified as
the remains of Pretty Hut Howe. The mound has been recently (post-
1974) bulldozed from the south end, and is now horseshoe shaped.
Originally it was about 12m in diameter. Broken pantiles, glass and
wood also litter the area, and this accords with what Atkinson
described in his excavation report: 'Pretty Hut Howe was a barrow
with a hut with a tiled roof and a doorway with posts built into it,
hence the name'. 'The barrow was 40 feet (13m) in diameter and not
less than 6 feet (1.8m) high . . . with one or two kerbstones
remaining.' It had already been penetrated in the centre to the
level of the natural moorstone pavement.
Atkinson's excavation produced a small cist 12 feet (3.6m) south-
east of centre containing an 'upright empty vessel of flowerpot
shape', although this cannot now be traced. Atkinson states that it
was similar to one he found at Hob on the Hill (0206), which was a
food vessel. Some 7 feet (2.2m) south-east of centre he found a
cremation accompanied by a trapezoidal flint knife and a 'javelin
point' of burnt flint. A second burnt projectile point, 'a
lancehead', was found outside the mound. (4)
The Bronze Age burial cairn is visible as earthworks on air photographs, centred at 6278 1267. The heavily truncated mound now has dimensions measuring 8m by 9m, with sunken disturbance in the centre. The feature is extant on the latest 2009 vertical photography.
(5) |