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.
Details
Green Low ringcairn is situated on the northern gritstone moorlands of
Derbyshire. The monument includes a roughly circular bank of grassed-over
stone and also the features enclosed by this bank which include the disturbed
remains of a low mound and a number of pits. The bank stands c.0.5m high and
is between 2m and 3m wide. It forms a ring measuring 21.5m by 20m inside
which there are two large pits on the south side, each measuring c.1m by
0.75m. North of these, lying slightly off-centre, is a low sub-circular ring
of c.6m diameter inside which, at the northern end, is another smaller pit.
These are the remains of a mound partially excavated by W J Andrew in 1908 and
found to contain a collared urn, two stone implements and an incense cup.
Ringcairns date to the Early and Middle Bronze Age and it is not yet clear
whether the Bronze Age artefacts recovered by Andrew belong to the period of
construction or to a slightly later phase of secondary use.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
13370
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
