Ring cairn on Slipper Hill

Reasons for Designation

A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by fieldwork and ground level survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

Despite a combination of limited antiquarian investigation and some robbing of material from the ring bank, the ring cairn on Slipper Hill survives reasonably well. This investigation located human remains, and further evidence of interments will exist at this monument.

Details

The monument includes a ring cairn located on Slipper Hill a short distance south west of Hell Clough. It includes a slightly oval ring of six stones which originally formed part of a ring bank. These stones, the largest of which is 0.45m wide by 0.2m high, enclose an area measuring 11.7m NNE-SSW by 10.4m ENE-WSW. Limited antiquarian investigation of the monument in 1887 located calcined human bones.

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:

23723

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnes, B, Man and the changing landscape, (1982), 100
Trans Lancs & Chesh Antiq Soc in Proceedings - Stone Circles at Entwistle and Turton, Vol. II, (1893), 158

Other
Title: Blackburn, Burnley & surrounding area Source Date: 1988 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Landranger 103
FMW Report, Capstick, B, Ring Mound and Stone Circle on Slipper Hill, (1993)

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