Reasons for Designation
The East Moors in Derbyshire includes all the gritstone moors east of the
River Derwent. It covers an 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 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-connections,
will be identified as nationally important.
Details
The monument includes the remains of a large round cairn which stands on a
bluff of moorland close to another cairn of similar size, which is the subject
of a separate scheduling. Both cairns are interpreted as funerary monuments.
The round cairn 970m south of Hob Hurst's House was constructed from surface
worn gritstones and measures approximately 14m in diameter and 1m high. It
stands within a surrounding bank of approximately 23m diameter and 0.5m high.
Although there is evidence for stone robbing on the eastern side of the mound
and at its centre, either as the result of an undocumented excavation or for
wall building, much of the structure remains intact and it is likely that much
buried information remains undisturbed. The size, position and relative
isolation of the cairn indicates that it was not the product of stone
clearance for agriculture but was built as a funerary monument. On the western
side of the monument there appears to be an extension to the surrounding bank
forming a flat topped platform. Several surviving prehistoric cairnfields and
field systems on the moorlands are in sight of the monument and it is likely
that the cairn served as an ancestral burial place during the earlier phases
of settlement on the moors during the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age period.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31256
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
