Two bowl barrows at Rockhurst

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.

The larger of the two bowl barrows at Rockhurst is a reasonably well preserved example whose archaeological remains are largely intact. The smaller barrow, although denuded, still retains some of its deposits in addition to significant architectural features, and is important owing to its close proximity to the other barrow.

Details

The two bowl barrows at Rockhurst are located 10m apart above an outcrop on the south-eastern uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes both barrows within a single constraint area. The larger barrow, situated adjacent to a quarry pit to the south-east, consists of a steep-sided, sub-circular mound measuring 13.5m by 11.5m and surviving to a height of c.1.5m. The top of the mound has been disturbed and it is possible that this is the barrow on Brassington Moor partially excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1849. The smaller north-western barrow has a diameter of 9.5m and is c.0.2m high, having apparently been excavated almost to the old land surface though there is no record of such an excavation. Clearly visible in the remains of the smaller barrow are a stone cist and three rock-cut pits in which burials will have been placed. These features and the overall appearance of both barrows indicate that they are of Bronze Age date. Excluded from the scheduling is the field wall which crosses the southern edge of the south-eastern barrow but the ground underneath is included.

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:

13343

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), 55-56
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 8

End of official list entry

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