Reasons for Designation
Round cairns are funerary monuments covering single or multiple burials and
dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000 - 700 BC). They were constructed as mounds of
earth and stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter but usually considerably
smaller; a kerb of edge set stones sometimes bounds the edges of the mound.
Burials were placed in small pits, or on occasion within a box-like structure
called a cist, let into the old ground surface or set within the body of the
cairn. Round cairns can occur as isolated monuments, in small groups, or in
large cemeteries. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a
monument type provides important information on the diversity of beliefs,
burial practices and social organisation in the Bronze Age. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of
surviving examples are considered worthy of preservation.
Despite visitor erosion to the monument's surface, the cairn on The Roaches
survives well. It is a rare survival in the Peak District of an unexcavated
example of this class of monument.
Details
The monument includes a round cairn located on The Roaches at the highest
point of a ridge. It is an oval mound of gritstone boulders and earth up to
2.5m high with maximum dimensions of 14.5m by 12.5m. The cairn has been added
to the eastern side of a natural outcrop. It is not known to have been
excavated.
An Ordnance Survey triangulation column on the monument's summit is excluded
from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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:
22441
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other SMR No 4087, Staffs SMR, Barrow, The Roaches,
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.
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