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 a prehistoric cairnfield located on a bluff of moorland
on the western side of Eyam Moor. It is one of a group of similar monuments
providing evidence of extensive prehistoric agriculture and settlement on Eyam
Moor.
The monument comprises a series of well-preserved cairns of medium and small
stones gathered in prehistoric times as the result of agricultural land
clearance. There are up to ten small cairns ranging from about 1.5m to 4m in
diameter, some of which are irregular in shape. Most of the cairns are
complete. The cairnfield stands on a bluff on otherwise sloping ground and
was probably a component of a larger cairnfield extending to the north and
north east. This cairnfield is separated from the other prehistoric remains on
the moor by areas of stony, steeply-sloping and potentially boggy ground.
The size and location of the cairns, together with indications of linear
clearance, indicates that they are the remains of an area of agricultural
settlement and land clearance dating to the Bronze Age.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31239
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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
