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.
Details
The monument is located on a south west facing shelf below the crest of
Harland Edge which is in the area of the eastern gritstone moorlands of the
Peak District commonly known as the East Moors. It includes a large, roughly
circular, gritstone cairn with a diameter of c.18m and a height of c.1m.
This was partially excavated in 1961-62 by Riley who found that the centre
had previously been the site of an unrecorded antiquarian delve.
The disturbed part of the cairn was found to contain fragments of two pottery
food vessels, cremated bone, a flint arrowhead and two pottery urns of
differing kinds. On the old land surface beneath these remains, the burnt
bones of several individuals were found together with evidence of scorching,
indicative of an in situ cremation. Three grave-pits were also found on the
old land surface beneath the cairn. One, a 2m deep rock-cut grave, contained
evidence of a crouched inhumation, a flint tool and charcoal which has been
radiocarbon dated to c.1750 BC. Another pit, which was covered by a boulder
and contained flint knives, a food vessel inverted over the burnt bones of at
least two individuals and the fragments of a second food vessel, has been
dated to c.1490 BC. The third pit contained further cremated remains and an
inverted food vessel while, at the base of the cairn, further flint artefacts
were discovered with an inverted collared urn and a further cremation. These
remains, together with evidence that more than one gritstone kerb may have
existed around the edge of the cairn, indicate that the monument may have been
constructed in more than one phase during the Early Bronze Age. It is one of
several cairns to be found on Harland Edge, all of which have been assigned to
the Bronze Age on the basis of form, excavated evidence and their proximity to
the extensive Bronze Age field systems occurring below Harland Edge on Beeley
Moor and Beeley Warren.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
23327
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
