Round cairn and clearance cairn 770m north west of Crookhill Farm

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 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-connections, will be identified as nationally important.

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials were placed within stone-lined compartments called cists. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual 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.

The round cairn 770m north west of Crookhill Farm remains largely intact and will contain undisturbed archaeological information. The cairn is important both because of its prominent position in the landscape and through association with the nearby clearance cairn, which is also well-preserved. Taken together these features provide subtantial evidence for the agricultural and ceremonial use of the surrounding area during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a prehistoric round cairn and associated clearance cairn occupying gently sloping, stony ground to the west of the northern crag of Crook Hill.

The round cairn comprises a low, grass-covered mound measuring 6.5m by 6m and standing 0.3m high. The location of the monument provides extensive views over the Woodlands valley to the south west. The monument is associated with a further funerary cairn that lies between the two crags of Crook Hill and is clearly visible from this location. Although there are minor disturbances to the centre and southern side of the monument, most of the cairn remains intact and will contain undisturbed archaeological remains. The form and location of the cairn indicates that it is funerary in function and Bronze Age in date.

A smaller cairn stands 35m to the south west and slightly downslope of the round cairn. The cairn measures 3m by 2m. This feature is interpreted as a clearance cairn constructed as part of the process of improving the land surface for agriculture. The clearance cairn shows some signs of disturbance although much of the feature remains intact. This cairn is the only feature of its type identified on this area of moorland and may signify an unsuccessful attempt at agriculture. Alternatively the cairn may represent the surviving part of a larger Bronze Age cairnfield that has subsequently been destroyed by robbing for walling stone.

Taken together the funerary and clearance cairns are indicative of the settlement and ceremonial use of this area during the Bronze Age.

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:

31295

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J W, Crookhill Farm Hope Woodlands Archaeological Survey 1994, (1995), 10
Barnatt, J W, Crookhill Farm Hope Woodlands Archaeological Survey 1994, (1995)

End of official list entry

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