More information : [NZ 70451176] Herd Howe [NR].
(1)
Herd Howe was opened by Atkinson in 1864. In it he found six
complete urns, three incense cups and the fragments of eight broken
urns - seventeen vessels in all, of which eight are collared
cinerary urns. In the mouth of one lay a stone battle axe. In
addition there were two unaccompanied cremation burials and an oval
grave below the natural surface containing another with pottery.
Four urns formed a group apart within a barrier of loose stones
about 12 feet south of the centre. Beneath a flat stone were two
small urns each with the cremated bones of a child with a large
empty urn, probably used as a food vessel, inverted a foot away.
Above the protecting stone was a small urn with burnt bones of a
small adult, a bone pin or needle perforated with an eye
at one end and fragments of a fine flint cutting implement.
(2)
Herd Howe as it has long been recorded, or Turngate Hill as it is
now called locally, was opened by Atkinson in September 1864. He
says that it appears originally to have had a low earthen ring
encircling it. Despite robbing by a central hole it was still eight
feet in height with a diameter of 55ft to 58ft.
(3)
A round barrow, 20.0m diameter and 1.6m high, robbed at the centre.
Published survey (25') revised.
(4)
00434 Herd Howe, Skelton NZ 7045 1176.
Herd Howe is situated on the crest of Gerrick Bank at 250m O.D.;
this barrow commands extensive views on all sides, being especially
visible from The Black Howes. It is a large composite mound, 17m in
diameter and between 1.5m and 2m high; the variation in height is
probably caused by the differential dumping of spoil from
excavations (Pl. II). There are traces of a ditch surrounding the
barrow, but this may be only a natural feature. A hollow-way runs
past the north end of the mound, and it was robbed from stone to
build the Guisborough/Whitby road that runs to the north.
Although Atkinson states that it had been opened
previously, his own excavations proved very fruitful. The mound
comprised a central stone cairn overlain by a layer of earth and
surrounded by a 'barrier of loose stonework'. He found 11 cremation
deposits and fragments of 17 vessels. The first cremation was
unaccompanied, and set into the side of the cairn; the next two were
associated, both were inurned and set into the stone wall. The two
other cremations were 'of children', and had been placed in small
urns between the wall and the mound centre. The latter were
associated with another inurned cremation, accompanied by a bone
needle. 0.3m nearer the centre of the mound was an empty inverted
urn - Atkinson regarded these last three cremations as a 'family
group'. A further cremation 1.5m east of the 'family group', was of
a 'young child' in an urn, accompanied by sherds of a second urn; a
further three inurned cremations, one with two bone pins, were found
close by. One of these, a food vessel, contained cremated bone.
Atkinson found a large urn containing a cremation, in which was
placed a stone battle axe, and the sherds of 5 more urns were found
through out the mound, together with a large number of flint
implements (Pl. III).
Underneath the central cairn, Atkinson came upon an oval pit, 2m by
1.4m by 1.3m deep, cut into the old ground surface. He recovered
charcoal, some scraps of burnt bone and 2 small sherds from this,
but did not fully complete his investigations as the feature was
waterlogged. The site is a scheduled ancient monument.
(5)
NZ 704 117. Herd Howe round cairn. Scheduled No CL/6.
(6)
NYM 29 in corpus. Full account of finds.
(7)
The Bronze Age round barrow was also mapped as part of the North York Moors National Park NMP project, visible as an earthwork on air photographs and centred at NZ 7045 1177. The barrow has a maximum diameter measuring approximately 18m and a prospection pit has been dug into the centre at an uncertain date. The feature is extant on the latest 2009 vertical photography.
(9)
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