Duggleby Howe
Neolithic Round Barrow
Duggleby, West of Kirby Grindalythe, North Yorkshire  OS Map Ref SE88056690
OS Maps - Landranger 101 (Scarborough), Explorer 300 (Howardian Hills & Malton)

Duggleby Howe barrow looking northwest on a snowy February 29th 2004

Looking northwest towards the barrow Looking southeast from the village of Duggleby

Duggleby Howe is one of the largest round barrows in Britain but it is unusual in that unlike most round barrows that date from the Bronze Age, this mound was constructed in the preceding Neolithic. It stands just east of the B1253, just south of the village of Duggleby and is visible from all around in this rich arable landscape. It is still over 6 metres in height although before excavations in 1890 by J. R. Mortimer it stood over 9 metres, and has a diameter of around 38 metres. Built with a massive 5000 tons of chalk, it was found to consist of a large central rock cut pit nearly 3 metres deep, with an accompanying double grave pit beside it. This grave pit contained the bodies of 10 adults and children along with arrowheads, bone pins, a flint knife and an antler macehead. Later during the Bronze Age another 50 cremations were added to the upper part of the mound with more arrowheads and a bone pin, and it is probable that more cremations remain undiscovered. The mound stood the within a large circular enclosure, consisting of a wide inner ditch, a narrower outer ditch and a series of causeways. The diameter of this enclosure was around 370 metres - it is now all but ploughed out and silted up, although part of it still lies under the modern B1253.

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