Bowl barrow on Hazelton Hill

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.

Despite the planting of trees on the monument and limited antiquarian investigation of the mound's centre, the bowl barrow on Hazelton Hill survives reasonably well. These investigations located human remains and associated artefacts, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on the summit of Hazelton Hill. It survives as a flat-topped oval earthen mound up to 1m high with maximum dimensions of 18m by 16.5m. There is an area of shallow pits on the southwestern edge of the barrow's top. Limited antiquarian investigation at the barrow's centre located a double cist 1.8m long by 0.6m wide and 0.45m deep. The cist was set in a rock-cut pit and contained two cremations, flints and pebbles. A ruined cist, a cremation beneath an inverted urn, a further cremation, pottery, flint artefacts and a piece of galena were also found within the barrow. The fence crossing the barrow is excluded from the scheduling. The ground beneath it, however, 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:

13554

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, , Ten Years Digging (1861), (1861)

Other
Bateman, Illustrations of Antiquity (Unpub volume of drawings), Sheffield City Museum
Carrington, Barrow Diggers (Unpub MS with letters and notes), 1848,
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
Bateman, Desc & Obs Further Discoveries in the Barrows of Derbyshire,

End of official list entry

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