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 an ovoid gritstone
cairn, measuring 8.5m north west-south east by 6m, which is retained by a low
kerb of stones broken, to the north east and south west, by entrances. On
either side of these entrances, the kerbstones increase in height and
terminate in radially set portal stones which originally stood c.1m high.
Between the two entrances, within the interior of the cairn, is a roughly oval
shaped hollow which appears to have had a level floor and which measures c.6m
north east-south west by 3m. It is lined on the south side by a line of
gritstone orthostats with an average height of c.0.5m. It is not clear whether
this hollow and stone setting have always been open or whether they represent
the remains of a cist which was originally covered over. There has been no
documented excavation of the monument but the hollow may have been the site of
an unrecorded antiquarian delve. A Bronze Age date is assigned to the cairn on
the basis of its complex form and proximity to other burial cairns on Harland
Edge, and also its association with 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:
23328
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
