White Cliff 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.

Although White Cliff bowl barrow has been disturbed by excavation, significant areas survive undisturbed and will contain intact archaeological remains.

Details

White Cliff bowl barrow is situated in a prominent position overlooking Monsal Dale on the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a roughly circular cairn measuring 18m by 16m and standing c.1.5m high. The barrow is believed to have been partially excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1851 when it was found to contain a central limestone cist containing a pottery urn inverted over the remains of a cremation and a burnt bone pin. Elsewhere in the barrow another cist was found. This contained the crouched skeletons of two adults and two children accompanied by a food vessel and a number of flint implements. The crouched skeleton of a third adult was found close to the latter cist while those of two more children were found north of the central cist. Also found were the bones of a pig and a dog, scattered human bone, an unidentified bone tool and a bronze fibula. The burial remains indicate a Bronze Age date for the barrow while the fibula represents its re-use in the Roman period. The barrow was also partially excavated by T A Harris in the 1920s or 30s. However, there is no published record of this event.

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:

13380

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), 77-79
Jewitt, L, Grave Mounds and their Contents, (1870)
Manby, T G, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in Food Vessels of the Peak District (1957), Vol. 77, (1957)
Marsden, B, Journal of Antiquaries in The Excavation of the Bee Low Round Cairn, Vol. 50, (1970), 184

End of official list entry

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