Dudderhouse Hill Neolithic long cairn, 213m SSE of Long Scar

Summary

A Neolithic long cairn surviving as a partly turf-covered oval mound of earth-fast and loose stone, situated just below the summit of Dudderhouse Hill, and overlooked by Ingleborough to the north-west.

Reasons for Designation

Dudderhouse Hill long cairn 213m SSE of Long Scar, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Rarity: it is a good example of a monument type that is rare nationally and was once thought to be absent from the Yorkshire Dales;
* Period: as one of very few monument types dating to early prehistory, it is highly representative of the period and will inform our knowledge and understanding of this time;
* Survival: it is reasonably well-preserved as an upstanding landscape feature relating to the burial practices, beliefs, and social organisation of early prehistoric societies;
* Potential: it retains significant archaeological and environmental deposits that will provide insight into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in England, and the landscape in which the long cairn was constructed and used.

History

Long cairns were constructed as elongated rubble mounds and functioned as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (about 3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long cairns appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Long cairns sometimes display evidence of internal structural arrangements, including stone-lined compartments and tomb chambers constructed from massive slabs. Some examples also show edge-set kerb stones bounding parts of the cairn perimeter. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funeral activity preceding construction of the cairn, and consequently it is probable that long cairns functioned as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time.

By the 1990s, some 500 examples of long cairns and long barrows (earthen counterparts found in central and eastern England), had been recorded nationally. One area where they seemed to be absent was the Yorkshire Dales, suggesting that Neolithic burial practices around Ingleborough, for instance, were focused on using the numerous natural cave systems found within the limestone. However, fieldwork and research over the last 20 years (such as Luke 2013) has now identified a small number of cairns that fit the pattern of Neolithic long cairns known elsewhere, although to date (2024) none have been scientifically dated.

Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is one of these cairns and was first identified in 2008 and surveyed at 1:50. The upstanding mound is clearly identifiable with Lidar data. An anomaly seen on Lidar immediately outside the cairn to the south-west was tentatively suggested as the remains of an encircling and infilled ditch. Alternatively, it was thought that this could also simply have represented a natural undulation in the underlying geology. Recent geophysical survey (March 2025) has been undertaken at the long cairn; preliminary results of this work suggest that the data quality is good and has confirmed the upstanding stone features. However, there is nothing to indicate the presence of any significant additional buried features outside of the long cairn matrix including the presence of a ditch.

The long axis of Dudderhouse long cairn appears to point to Pen-y-ghent, a prominent peak on the skyline to the north-east and to mirror the Ingleborough to Simons Fell ridge to the north-west. Luke (2021) suggests that this orientation was deliberate and that Dudderhouse Hill long cairn was carefully placed and orientated in the landscape. Other long cairns in the area, such as at Keld Bank and Hard Rigg, also appear to be orientated to respect Ingleborough and to be positioned to observe solstice events: midwinter sunset at Keld Bank and midwinter sunrise at Hard Rigg.

A photographic resurvey of Dudderhouse Hill long cairn (Luke 2023) has demonstrated that the site was disturbed between 2019 and 2023 by the removal of stone. This was to enhance an existing medieval/post-medieval cairn about 70m to the south, thought to mark the boundary between Austwick and Clapham Townships. This disturbance has confused evidence of historical adaption of the cairn which Luke suggests was modified before 1619 to form what is depicted and labelled Dutter’s Hull (hull being the local term for a small animal pen) on a map of this date. The long cairn may also have been used as a quarry for the construction of another small enclosure about 125m to the south-south-east, thought by Luke to be the remains of another hull (animal enclosure).

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: The long cairn consists of a partially turf-covered oval mound of earthfast and loose stone.

DESCRIPTION: The long cairn is sited on Dudderhouse Hill, a hillock on a saddle at the northern end of a ridge between Crummack Dale to the east and Clapdale to the west. It is overlooked by Ingleborough to the north-west. The hillock can be seen as an oval plateau about 180m north-south by around 80m east-west that is tilted down to the north and surrounded by limestone pavement, steep slopes, short cliffs and scree.

The long cairn sits just east of the north-south axis of the plateau forming the hillock, just over 60m north of the highest point that is now marked by a modern conical cairn. The long cairn is roughly oval, being approximately 23m long and 12m wide at its widest point, standing up to 1m above the surrounding ground surface. The view to the west from the cairn is limited by the rising ground of the hillock, but the view eastwards is expansive: the central axis being aligned on Pen-y-ghent 7.5km to the east-north-east. At the eastern end of the cairn there are the remains of two linear alignments of limestone blocks and stones about 2m apart that extend for about 3m north-eastwards, the depression between these two appearing to point towards the peak of Cosh Knott about 10km to the north-east. A large recumbent stone is interpreted as a potential orthostat forming part of this alignment. Although most of the stone of the cairn appears to be randomly positioned rubble, there are some large slabs and some edge-set stones that suggest that the cairn included deliberate internal structures.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: this includes the full extent of the long cairn as identified through field survey, lidar data and geophysical survey, including the stone alignmernts at the eastern end and what is considered to be a fallen orthostat. It also includes a margin of 5m on all sides for the support and preservation of the monument.

Sources

Websites
Luke, Y, (2013) 'Neolithic Long Mounds of the Yorkshire Dales and allied structures' First Interim Report towards a resource assessment, accessed 24 June 2024 from https://www.academia.edu/11783158/Neolithic_Long_Mounds_of_the_Yorkshire_Dales_and_allied_structures_First_Interim_Report_towards_a_resource_assessment

Other
Luke, Y, 'Dudderhouse Hill long cairn Damage Report July 2023' illustrated report to Yorkshire Dales National Park
Preliminary results of a geophysical survey, March 2025

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