Details

The monument is situated at the summit of Gautries Hill in the north-west
uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. It is a bowl barrow which
includes a sub-circular mound measuring 17m by 15m and standing c.1.5m high.
It is in a prominent location and is mutually visible with barrows on the tops
of nearby Snels Low and Eldon Hill. A partial excavation of the site was
carried out in 1876 by Pennington and Tym who discovered two limestone cists
or graves, in which were found numerous flints and a bone pin. Elsewhere in
the mound, human and animal bones were uncovered in addition to further flints
and the remains of a pottery food vessel. The remains date the barrow 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.

Although partially excavated, Gautries Hill bowl barrow is still a reasonably
well-preserved example in which further significant archaeological remains
survive.

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)
Pennington, R, The Barrows and Bone Caves of Derbyshire, (1877), 26

Source: Historic England