Wind Low bowl barrow and standing cross

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 the centre of Wind Low bowl barrow has been disturbed and the barrow is somewhat degraded by ploughing, the edges are reasonably well preserved and the barrow will contain further archaeologically significant remains.

Details

Wind Low bowl barrow is situated north of Wye Dale on the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes the barrow and the base of a medieval standing cross within a single constraint area. The barrow comprises a mound currently measuring 16m by 12m by 0.7m high. Previously it had a diameter of c.18.5m and was somewhat higher, but has been degraded by ploughing at some time after Thomas Bateman's partial excavation of the site in 1846. Bateman discovered a primary central cist containing the disturbed remains of three adult and two child skeletons, burnt bones, pot sherds and flint, part of a shale bracelet and a necklace of jet and ivory. The cist has since been removed, probably when the barrow was ploughed, and a kerb of limestone blocks also noted by Bateman is no longer visible. The finds indicate a Bronze Age date for the barrow which was also re-used at a much later date for the setting of a medieval standing cross. The base of the cross currently stands on the mound and consists of a dressed sandstone block with a socket hole in the top.

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:

13351

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)

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