Round cairn on Stiperstones, 150m south of Manstone Rock.

Reasons for Designation

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The round cairn on Stiperstones, 150m south of Manstone Rock survives well and is a good example of this monument class and unusual in its use of the natural rock stack as a setting. Despite the disturbance of its central area it will retain archaeological deposits and evidence within the mound of both an artefactual and structural character. It is one of a group of monuments of similar age on Stiperstones summit and, as such, contributes important information relating to the nature of land use and diversity of beliefs and social organisation practiced during the Bronze Age in this area of upland.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a substantial round cairn sited on the summit of Stiperstones, a narrow north-south orientated ridge of high ground. The cairn is visible as a circular mound 12m in diameter and 1.6m high surmounting a steep sided outcrop of rock. The fabric of the cairn comprises unweathered angular blocks of the same rock as the outcrop itself making differentiation between natural clitter and the cairn body difficult. The central area of the cairn has been disturbed forming a circular hollow 3m in diameter and 0.5m deep. There is no ditch associated with the mound, the material for the monument's construction being collected from the slopes of the outcrop on which it stands.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

19116

Legacy System:

RSM

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