Cairn 380m south west of Burbage Bridge

Reasons for Designation

The East Moors in Derbyshire includes all the gritstone moors east of the River Derwent. It covers and area of 105 sq km, of which around 63% is open moorland and 37% is enclosed. As a result of recent and on-going archaeological survey, the East Moors area is becoming one of the best recorded upland areas in England. On the enclosed land the archaeological remains are fragmentary, but survive sufficiently well to show that early human activity extended beyond the confines of the open moors. On the open moors there is significant and well-articulated evidence over extensive areas for human exploitation of the gritstone uplands from the Neolithic to the post-medieval periods. Bronze Age activity accounts for the most intensive use of the moorlands. Evidence for it includes some of the largest and best preserved field systems and cairnfields in northern England as well as settlement sites, numerous burial monuments, stone circles and other ceremonial remains which, together, provide a detailed insight into life in the Bronze Age. Also of importance is the well preserved and often visible relationship between the remains of earlier and later periods, since this provides an insight into successive changes in land use through time. A large number of the prehistoric sites on the moors, because of their rarity in a national context, excellent state of preservation and inter-connection, will be identified as nationally important.

Funerary cairns such as this are dated to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They are a relatively common feature in the uplands of Britain and are the stone equivalents of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The cairn 380m south west of Burbage Bridge is a complete and undisturbed cairn forming a particularly well preserved Bronze Age relic of the East Moors of the Peak Distirct. It is likely to contain burial remains.

Details

The monument includes a stone cairn situated on a spur of land overlooking the Burbage Valley, with a Bronze Age cairnfield and field system to the immediate north east. The monument lies on gently sloping, open moorland in the eastern gritstone moors of the Peak District. The cairn measures approximately 7.5m in diameter and is roughly circular in plan. It stands about 1m in height and appears to be undisturbed and in good condition. The cairn is partly covered with turf but some of the stones forming the cairn are exposed in places. The cairn occupies a prominent location overlooking a prehistoric cairnfield and field system to the east, which form the subject of a separate scheduling. Separating the cairn from the cairnfield is an area of often boggy ground and a small stream. The area appears to have been avoided by prehistoric farmers as unsuitable for agricultural purposes, but buried remains may lie beneath the accumulated peat and turf. To the east of the cairn is a small area of cleared land towards the edge of the spur, which may be a remote extension of the cleared area of the cairnfield and field system to the north east. Alternatively, this may simply be an area where gathered stones were taken for the construction of the cairn itself. The cairn is larger than most of those in the cairnfield to the east, indicating that its function may have been different. The cairn is likely to belong to the Bronze Age period, as with many of the archaeological remains in the vicinity. Its isolated position, prominent location, and relatively large size, indicate that it may have been used as a funerary monument. Since it is undisturbed, any human burial remains are likely to remain intact. As with many cairns in areas of prehistoric agricultural activity in this region, the monument may originally have been a clearance cairn which became enlarged at a slightly later date with the insertion of human burial remains.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

29798

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849)
Barnatt, J W, Derbyshire Archaeological Journal in Bronze Age Remains on the East Moors of the Peak District, Vol. 106, (1986), 32
Beswick, P, Merrills, D, Trans. of the Hunter Archaeological Soc. in L H Butcher's Survey of Early Settlement ..., Vol. 12, (1983)

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

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