Round cairn 1140m north east of Bamford House

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1020416
Date first listed:: 11-Dec-2001

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1020416
Date first listed:: 11-Dec-2001

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Sheffield (Metropolitan Authority)
Parish:: Bradfield
National Park:: PEAK DISTRICT
National Grid Reference:: SK 18366 92005

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 the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provides important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The round cairn 1140m north east of Bamford House survives in excellent condition and is characteristic in form and location of a small round cairn. Smaller cairns and barrows are typically less common than larger funerary monuments within the Peak District, this is because their size makes them more vulnerable to the effects of intaking and agricultural improvement. Despite a minor disturbance at its centre, the monument remains largely intact and will retain substantial information about its construction and date.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn of Bronze Age date situated within an area of open moorland east of the Derwent Reservoir.

The monument is situated on an area of level ground directly to the south of the steep-sided valley that channels the Abbey Brook. This location provides extensive views over the valley, with good visibility in most directions. The cairn comprises a low gritstone mound measuring 5m by 4m and standing 0.3m high. Despite a minor disturbance at the centre of the mound, the majority of the monument remains intact and the cairn and underlying soil will contain undisturbed archaeological information. The form and location of the monument indicate that it is funerary in function and of Bronze Age date. The cairn represents a ceremonial site and is associated with a small number of contemporaneous funerary monuments situated within the surrounding moorlands. Taken together these monuments are indicative of the settlement and ceremonial use of the surrounding 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:: 31313
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Bevan, WJ, The Upper Derwent Archaeological Survey 1994-1997, (1998), Ill#112
Bevan, WJ, The Upper Derwent Archaeological Survey 1994-1997, (1998), Ill# 66
Bevan, WJ, The Upper Derwent Archaeological Survey 1994-1997, (1998), 154

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.