Wyaston hlaew

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 disturbed by ploughing and partial excavation, Wyaston hlaew is reasonably well preserved and retains significant archaeological remains.

Details

Wyaston hlaew, or Anglian barrow, is situated on the southern fringes of the Derbyshire Peak District. The monument includes a bowl-shaped mound measuring 27m by 22.5m and surviving to a height of c.0.75m. Originally, the barrow was more uniformly circular and somewhat higher; but ploughing has lowered its profile and distorted its shape. In 1852, Samuel Carrington carried out a partial excavation of the site and recovered human teeth, which were all that survived of a skeleton, accompanied by a necklace of twenty-seven beads, a finger ring of knotted silver wire, silver earrings and a circular brooch. Five of the beads of the necklace were amber while the rest were red or white porcelain variegated with blue, red and yellow. The artefacts indicate that the barrow was constructed during the seventh century AD and that the occupant was probably female.

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:

13373

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), 188-9
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 33-4
Meaney, A L S, Gazetteer of Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites, (1964)
Fowler, M J, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in The Anglian Settlement of the Derbys-Staffs. Peak District, Vol. 74, (1954), 134-51
Ozanne, A, Medieval Archaeology in The Peak Dwellers, Vol. 6/7, (1962), 15-52

End of official list entry

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