Two bowl barrows at Pilsbury

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.

Although partially disturbed by excavation, the larger barrow at Pilsbury is still a well preserved example containing further significant archaeological remains. The second, smaller barrow is one of only a small number of examples undisturbed by antiquarian excavation surviving in the Peak District.

Details

The two bowl barrows at Pilsbury are sub-circular cairns located c.10m apart on a hilltop within the western upland ridges of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes both barrows within a single constraint area. The larger measures 19m by 14m and survives to a height of c.1.5m while the smaller, situated to the ESE measures 11m by 9m by c.0.5m high and is flatter in profile. The larger was partially excavated by Bateman in 1847 and found to contain two contracted skeletons within a natural fissure covered by inclined stones. These and a cremation burial placed at the foot of one of the inhumations indicate a Bronze Age date. The second barrow has not been excavated and its deposits are therefore largely intact though it has suffered some slight disturbance through stone-robbing, probably for wall stone, in the early nineteenth century. An Anglian secondary burial inserted into the larger barrow indicates its re-use in the early medieval period.

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:

13310

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, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849)
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977)

Other
Thesis, Lewis, GD, The Bronze Age in the Southern Pennines, (1970)

End of official list entry

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