Pillow Mounds, Mallerstang

Pillow mounds beside the River Eden at Mallerstang near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Cumbria.
Rabbits were introduced into the UK by the Normans, and were 'farmed' for their fur and meat. To protect their rabbits, wealthy landowners built artificial warrens which are now called 'pillow mounds' or 'giants' graves'. The pillow mounds were rectangular heaps of earth surrounded by a ditch. There are four in total on this site in Mallerstang, each about 15 metres long and over half a metre in height. They are believed to have been managed by the owners of nearby Pendragon Castle.
The circular depression in front of the pillow mounds is probably a Bronze Age Burial carirn with a collapsed centre.