Bole Hill 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 Bole Hill bowl barrow has been partially excavated and disturbed by stone-getting, it is still reasonably well-preserved and retains further significant archaeological remains.

Details

The monument is situated on the shelves south of the Wye Valley on the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. It has a hilltop location and includes a roughly circular mound with a diameter of 21m and a height of c.1m. The mound has been partially robbed for wall stone and was the site of a partial excavation carried out by Thomas Bateman in 1854. Bateman found a primary crouched skeleton accompanied by a circular flint artefact, and the disturbed remains of a number of other burials, some of which had been cremations. A bronze knife was also found and these remains date the barrow to the Bronze Age. In addition, a green glass stud and a sherd of red, kiln-baked pottery indicate that the barrow was re-used at a later date, possibly in the Roman period. The modern field wall crossing the edge of the monument is excluded from the scheduling although the ground underneath 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:

23277

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, T, Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills, (1861), 90-91
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 11

End of official list entry

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