Bowl barrow 300m north of Slade House

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 limited antiquarian investigation at the monument's centre the bowl barrow 300m north of Slade House survives reasonably well. This investigation located human and faunal remains, flints, pottery and a bronze artifact, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on the southern summit of the crest of a ridge 300m north of Slade House. It survives as an oval mound up to 1m high with maximum dimensions of 21m by 19m. There is an irregularly-shaped shallow central depression 0.2m deep. A drystone wall clips the extreme northeast side of the barrow. Limited antiquarian investigation at the barrow's centre located two adult human cremations in a circular pit in the old landsurface. The pit had been lined with wood or basketry. Elsewhere in the pit was a pygmy cup containing the teeth of a child. Ox bones, a bronze awl, flints, and pebbles were also found nearby. Beneath these was the shoulder blade of a large animal with sawn edges. Four further cremations and some flint flakes were found on the old landsurface a short distance to the west of the central pit. The drystone wall is excluded from the scheduling. The ground beneath it, however, 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:

13564

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, , Ten Years Digging (1861), (1861), 130
Carrington, , Reliquary (1865), (1865), 171

Other
Carrington, Barrow Diggers (Unpub MS with letters and notes), 1848,
Bateman, Illustrations of Antiquity (Unpub volume of drawings), Sheffield City Museum
Bateman, Desc & Obs Further Discoveries in the Barrows of Derbyshire,
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)

End of official list entry

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