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.
Stone circles are prehistoric monuments comprising one or more circles of
upright or recumbent stones. The circle of stones may be surrounded by
earthwork features such as enclosing banks and ditches. Single upright stones
may be found within the circle or outside it and avenues of stones radiating
out from the circle occur at some sites. Burial cairns may be found close to
and on occasion within the circle. Stone circles are found throughout England
although they are concentrated in western areas, with particular clusters in
upland areas such as Bodmin and Dartmoor in the south west and the Lake
District and the rest of Cumbria in the north west. This distribution may be
more a reflection of present survival rather than an original pattern. Where
excavated, they have been found to date from the late Neolithic to the Middle
Bronze Age (c.2400-1000 BC). It is clear that they were carefully designed
and laid out, frequently exhibiting very regularly spaced stones, the heights
of which also appear to have been of some importance. We do not fully
understand the uses for which these monuments were originally constructed but
it is clear that they had considerable ritual importance for the societies
that used them. In many instances, excavation has indicated that they
provided a focus for burials and the rituals that accompanied interment of the
dead. Some circles appear to have had a calendrical function, helping mark
the passage of time and seasons, this being indicated by the careful alignment
of stones to mark important solar or lunar events such as sunrise or sunset at
midsummer or midwinter. At other sites the spacing of individual circles
throughout the landscape has lead to a suggestion that each one provided some
form of tribal gathering point for a specific social group. A small stone
circle comprises a regular or irregular ring of stones with a diameter of
between 4 and 20 metres. They are widespread throughout England although
clusters are found on Dartmoor, the North Yorkshire Moors, in the Peak
District and in the uplands of Cumbria and Northumberland. Of the 250 or so
stone circles identified in England, over 100 are examples of small stone
circles. As a rare monument type which provides an important insight into
prehistoric ritual activity, all surviving examples are worthy of
preservation.
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 the mound in 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 stone circle 330m north west of Crookhill Farm is important as a surviving
example of either a stone circle or possible kerbed cairn. Only excavation
would resolve the exact interpretation of the monument. A large amount of the
monument remains intact and will contain undisturbed archaeological
information. The stone circle or kerbed cairn is also important in its
association with nearby contemporary ceremonial and agricultural features.
Taken together, these monuments provide substantial evidence for the
settlement and ceremonial use of the surrounding area during the Bronze Age.
Details
The monument includes a circle of stones occupying gently sloping ground
within an area of enclosed moorland. The location of the monument affords
extensive views over the Derwent valley and is overlooked by the gritstone
crags of Crook Hill.
The monument forms an irregular circle measuring 7m in diameter. The circle
is defined by five small stones two of which remain standing and three of
which lie flat. The standing stones measure 0.4m and 0.6m in height, the
fallen stones appear to be of similar size. The interior of the circle
contains two patches of grass-covered rubble which may indicate that the
monument was also a cairn with the stones acting as a kerb around the edge of
the mound.
The location and physical characteristics of the monument indicate that it is
either a stone circle or kerbed cairn of Bronze Age date. The monument is
associated with nearby contemporary features including two round cairns and a
clearance cairn. Despite disturbance to the the interior of the monument,
many of the surrounding stones are undisturbed and the monument will contain
undisturbed archaeological information.
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.
