Details

The monument is one of a dispersed alignment of five bowl barrows situated on
Calton Pastures in the eastern gritstone moorlands of Derbyshire. It includes
an oval mound measuring 20m by 14m. Originally the mound would have been more
uniformly circular, but, on the north-west and south-east sides, it has been
degraded by ridge and furrow ploughing. The remains of this can be seen around
the barrow but are not included in the scheduling. Originally the barrow was
some 2m high. However, at some point in the 18th or 19th century, an
excavation trench was taken across the summit from south-west to north-east,
leaving a scar c.0.6m deep. Possibly this excavation was carried out by Major
Rooke who is known to have opened one of the barrows on Calton Pastures in
1779 or 1787 and found the remains of a cremation and pottery food vessel. The
overall appearance of the barrow, and its proximity to others of the period,
date it 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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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.

All the barrows on Calton Pastures have been disturbed by excavation and
ploughing, but all are nevertheless reasonably well preserved and retain
substantial areas of intact archaeological deposits.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, T, Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills, (1861), 64-5
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849), 22
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 32-33

Source: Historic England