Aleck 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.

Although part of Aleck Low bowl barrow has been examined, considerably more survives largely undisturbed and contains further significant archaeological remains.

Details

Aleck Low bowl barrow is a sub-circular cairn situated on the western upland ridges of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a mound measuring 17m by 14.5m surviving to a height of c.1m and with a visible limestone kerb. The top and part of the north quadrant of the mound have been damaged by partial excavations carried out prior to and during the nineteenth century. Ploughing has also caused some disturbance in the past by reducing the overall diameter. A Bronze Age date has been assigned to the monument following the discoveries made by Thomas Bateman during his excavation of part of the site in 1843. These included a crouched inhumation and a cremation, fragments of Bronze Age pottery and a number of flint tools. An Ordnance Survey trig point, on the eastern side of the monument, is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it 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:

13304

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), 45
Jewitt, L, Grave Mounds and their Contents, (1870), 72-3
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 48
Manby, T G, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in Food Vessels of the Peak District (1957), Vol. 77, (1957)

End of official list entry

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