Brundcliffe hlaew

Reasons for Designation

A hlaew is a burial monument of Anglo-Saxon or Viking date and comprising a hemispherical mound of earth and redeposited bedrock constructed over a primary burial or burials. These were usually inhumations, buried in a grave cut into the subsoil beneath the mound, but cremations placed on the old ground surface beneath the mound have also been found. Hlaews may occur in pairs or in small groups; a few have accompanying flat graves. Constructed during the pagan Saxon and Viking periods for individuals of high rank, they served as visible and ostentatious markers of their social position. Some were associated with territorial claims and appear to have been specifically located to mark boundaries. They often contain objects which give information on the range of technological skill and trading contacts of the period. Only between 50 and 60 hlaews have been positively identified in England. As a rare monument class all positively identified examples are considered worthy of preservation.

Although Brundcliffe hlaew has been partially disturbed by excavation and quarrying, the monument is reasonably well preserved and retains significant archaeological remains.

Details

Brundcliffe hlaew, or Anglian barrow, is situated in the western uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a bowl-shaped mound, disturbed on the south-west side by quarrying so that it now has a sub- circular appearance and measures 14m by 11m in diameter by c.1m high. In 1847 the barrow was partially excavated by Thomas Bateman who recovered an extended skeleton in a rock-cut grave, accompanied by an iron and wood object with silver ornamentation and associated with traces of wooden planking interpreted as the remains of a coffin. In addition there was a curved iron knife and the sherds of a red earthenware jug of a rare Frankish type not normally found outside Kent. Jugs of this kind date from the 6th century AD and after, indicating a date for the barrow of c.AD600. Higher in the mound Bateman found a horse cremation and charcoal. Excluded from the scheduling are the wall and fence crossing the top of the mound but 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:

13372

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
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, (1986)
Meaney, A L S, Gazetteer of Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites, (1964)
Fowler, M J, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in The Anglian Settlement of the Derbys-Staffs. Peak District, Vol. 74, (1954)
Ozanne, A, Medieval Archaeology in The Peak Dwellers, Vol. 6/7, (1962)

Other
Barnatt, J W, Peak District Barrow Survey, 1989, unpublished survey

End of official list entry

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