Quernhow: a Food-Vessel Barrow in Yorkshire

Abstract

The excavation described in this paper was occasioned by the impending destruction of the Quernhow barrow in the course of construction of a new carriage-way on the Great North Road. Proposals for the preservation of the monument had been advanced prior to the last war, but these proving inexpedient, the complete investigation of the structure was requested by the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate of the Ministry of Works, at the instance of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, and the writer invited to supervise the excavation. A generous grant towards the cost of labour having been made by the Ministry and the Society undertaking to meet all other expenses involved, work commenced on 2nd May 1949, and continued for six weeks, four men being employed throughout this period. At no time was the weather ideal, alternating between an exceptionally long dry spell, which made the study of the barrow structure an extremely difficult task, and a period of continuous rain which unfortunately coincided with the investigation of the primary burial complex.