There are anomalies regarding this earthwork which can be confusing. These are due to it being described in some records as a ring cairn and others as a pond barrow as well as incorrect grid references.
To start with Historic England List Entry 1011277 describe it as a ring cairn 16m in diameter with the annular bank being 3 metres thick and standing to a height of 0.2m. It encloses a hollow central area measuring 10m in diameter. They also note that there had been recent soil dumping on the earthwork. So this should be easy to find, well no because the grid reference they give is incorrect (NZ 56161 17278). I have walked along the track beside this grid reference literally hundreds of times over the years, there is nothing there, its about 50 metres further to the east.
Historic England quotes as sources, the following: Books and journals :
Crawford, G M, Bronze Age Burial Mounds in Cleveland, (1980)
Vyner, B E, 'Yorkshire Archaeological Journal' in Bronze Age activity on the Eston Hills, Cleveland, , Vol. 63, (1991). Other: No. 0067.
The ‘Other’ No. 0067 is the Cleveland Site and Monument Record Number (SMR) – This is listed on page 47 of Vyners document where it is described as a burial mound 16m in diameter and 1m high and the grid reference given is NZ 5616 1728 which is also incorrect and probably the source Historic England used.
Site 0067 is listed in Crawfords document on page 31 where the CORRECT grid reference is given NZ 5619 1732 and note Crawfords document precedes the others. For the record I make it NZ 56194 17325 with my GPS. Also this earthwork is shown on both modern and historical OS maps at NZ 5619 1732 nothing is shown at NZ 56161 17278 - Historic England’s Grid Ref is incorrect.
Crawford describes the earthwork as follows “ This mound appears to be one of the few genuine pond barrow / enclosed cremation cemeteries in Cleveland” He gives its dimensions as 10m in diameter (he says external but I think he means internal). He says the bank is 3m wide and 0.2m high with the centre sunk 0.8m below the top of the bank.
My View: When I first went looking for this about ten years ago, I was looking for a ring cairn with a height of about 0.2m. I was unaware at the time that it could be a pond barrow, though it didn’t really look like any of the other ring cairns that I am used to seeing in this part of the world. However I hadn’t realised that the high bank (I was expecting to see something only 0.2m high) at the west of the earthwork which obscures its shape was caused by over dumping of spoil when they recut the track which runs close by as explained by Crawford. So maybe remove the excess spoil and maybe it would look more like the ring cairns I am used to seeing. As for it being a pond barrow, I wouldn’t know I have never seen one, though if it is would that not make it quite rare for this part of the world, I thought they were mainly found down south in Dorset and Wiltshire, at least that’s what Wikipedia tells me.
Pastscape also has information and errors at Monument 27520 where it describes it as a ring cairn and the same as Historic England under the Sub Heading Details gives an incorrect grid reference of NZ 5616 1727. However under the Sub Heading “More Information and Sources” the correct grid reference can be found as well as Crawfords description of it being a pond barrow.
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road