Cairn complex 780m south of Dalebrook House

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.

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments usually dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials were sometimes placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visible element in the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form 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 complex 780m south of Dalebrook House is important as a complex structure of two or more conjoining cairns forming a ritual monument of the earliest settlement phase of these moorlands.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a large complex of prehistoric funerary cairns. The complex occupies a commanding position on the edge of an escarpment overlooking extensive Bronze Age settlement evidence on Gibbet Moor. Although disturbed, the stone kerb and edges of at least two adjoining cairns survive, with indications that there may even be a third adjoining structure now almost totally concealed by scattered surface stone. Although stone has been removed from the cairn to construct an adjoining animal pen to the north, a substantial amount of the complex appears to remain intact and is likely to contain undisturbed archaeological remains. The cairn complex measures about 15m across and stands 0.7m high, although its original diameter of more than 17m can still be discerned.

The monument dates to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age and was used for funerary and ceremonial purposes. It is likely to have been one of the earliest structures built as part of the extensive prehistoric settlement of these moorlands.

The remains of a drystone animal pen to the north of the cairn are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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:

31267

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J W, The Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey (Moorlands), (1998), 85-6
Barnatt, J W, The Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey (Moorlands), (1998), 85-6

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Barnatt, J W, Peak District Barrow Survey, 1989, unpublished survey
Barnatt, J W, Peak District Barrow Survey, 1989, unpublished survey

End of official list entry

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