Smerrill Barn bowl barrow

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Smerrill Barn bowl barrow is a well-preserved example of a Peak District barrow which may have escaped excavation in the 19th century and so may contain rare intact archaeological remains.

Details

This barrow, located 300m north-east of Smerrill Barn, is situated overlooking Long Dale in the central uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a sub-circular mound measuring 12m by 10m by c.0.75m high and may have been the barrow on Smerrill Moor partially excavated by Thomas Bateman on the 15th June 1857. This, however, is not certain as Bateman's description of the excavated barrow suggests it was somewhat smaller, being only 10 yards wide and 18 inches high. The excavated barrow was found to contain a crouched skeleton, further human bone and a number of flint implements which assign it to the Bronze Age. The appearance of Smerrill Barn bowl barrow, and its proximity to others of the same period, suggest that it too is of Bronze Age date even if it is not the barrow that Bateman opened.

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:

23248

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, T, Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills, (1861), 104

End of official list entry

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