Top Low bowl barrow

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 minor plough damage to the barrow's edges and limited 19th and 20th century investigation at the centre of the mound, Top Low bowl barrow survives reasonably well. These investigations located human and faunal remains and artifacts, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface.

Details

The monument includes Top Low bowl barrow located at the north-east end of a broad ridge-top plateau with land sloping steeply down to the north and east. It survives as a slightly mutilated oval mound of stone and earth up to 1m high with maximum dimensions of 22m by 20m. A shallow central pit measuring 5m by 2m and 0.2m deep is a legacy of past investigation of the barrow. A second, smaller, shallow pit of the same origin lies towards the southern end of the barrow's centre. This limited antiquarian investigation of the barrow located a variety of archaeological remains including 2 rock-cut graves, 2 cists, 6 inhumations, an animal inhumation, a cremation, pottery, artefacts of bronze, flint and bone, antler tine and a human skull. Further limited excavation occurred in 1927 when Pape re-dug some of the previously investigated area and located disturbed inhumations, flints, pottery and fragments of a polished axe.

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:

13576

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, , Ten Years Digging (1861), (1861), 133
Pape, , Trans North Staffordshire Field Club in Trans North Staffordshire Field Club (1930), (1930), 89-96

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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