Two hlaews at Haslin House

Reasons for Designation

Hlaews are pre-Christian burial monuments of Anglo-Saxon or Viking date and may be found singly or in small groups. Typically they are constructed of earth and usually comprise a low hemispherical mound or a combination of mound, inner ditch and outer bank covering one or more burials which may be inhumations, cremations or both. Most hlaews contain rich grave-goods, indicating the high status of the occupants, and these goods date Anglian hlaews to the late sixth and seventh centuries AD and Viking hlaews to the ninth century. There are only between fifty and sixty authenticated hlaews recorded nationally, with particular concentrations in the Peak District and Wiltshire. They are one of a restricted range of monuments from the Anglian and Viking periods and contain evidence not only of burial customs and craft skills but also of colonisation and settlement patterns. Because of this, and due to their extreme rarity, all surviving hlaews are considered to be of national importance. Although the northernmost of the two hlaews at Haslin House has been partially disturbed by excavation, the monument is reasonably intact and retains significant archaeological remains. The southernmost hlaew is previously unrecorded and is therefore a rare survival of an undisturbed Anglian barrow. Archaeological remains preserving the relationship between the two barrows survive in the area between them, which may also contain flat graves of the same period.

Details

Haslin House is situated in the western upland ridges of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes two hlaews, or Anglian barrows, located c.10m apart above a steep north-facing slope. The northernmost of these is a roughly circular bowl-shaped mound measuring 14m by 13m and standing 0.7m high. This was partially excavated in 1850, by Thomas Bateman and found to be of earthen construction and to contain a small central cairn over a rock-cut grave in which was placed an extended inhumation which had been buried either in a wooden coffin or surrounded by wooden planks. The southernmost hlaew has not been excavated and is similar in appearance to the hlaew at Benty Grange. It consists of a low central mound measuring 5m by 6m and standing c.0.3m high, surrounded by a shallow ditch measuring 2m wide by c.0.2m deep. Around the ditch is a low bank measuring between 1m and 1.5m wide by 0.2m high. The overall diameter is c.12m. Both barrows date to the seventh century AD.

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:

13374

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), 65-6
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 26

End of official list entry

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