Bowl barrow on Carsington Pasture, 800m south east of Brassington Brickworks

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Although the bowl barrow on Carsington Pasture, 800m south east of Brassington Brickworks, has been partially excavated the monument is generally well-preserved. The site will retain important archaeological and ecological deposits both in the mound and on the buried land surface beneath it.

Details

The monument is a bowl barrow located on Carsington Pasture, an area of upland at the southern margin of the carboniferous limestone plateau of the Peak District known as the White Peak. The remains include a low circular earthen mound approximately 20m in diameter and 1m in height. The barrow has a slight hollow in the centre as a result of excavations by the Time Team in June 2002. During these excavations trenches which were first dug in 1983 were reopened and the stratigraphy and content of the barrow fully recorded. Finds from the excavation include flints, prehistoric pottery and fragments of human bone which date the monument to 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:

35606

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Guilbert, G, Archaeological reconnaissance on Carsington Pasture, Derbyshire, (1994), 7-8

End of official list entry

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