Details

The monument is a bowl barrow situated in the former Bradley Park in the
southern ridges of the Derbyshire Peak District. It includes a sub-circular
earth mound measuring 23.5m by 18m and standing c.0.5m high. Originally the
mound would have been more uniformly circular and somewhat higher, but
ploughing has caused it to spread along its east-west axis. A partial
excavation of the barrow was carried out by Greaves in 1860 when the remains
of a human cremation burial were found on the old land surface beneath the
mound, accompanied by a collared urn and a bronze knife. These remains date
the barrow to the Bronze Age. A second mound, 80m to the south-west, was also
investigated by Greaves but no remains were identified. The status of this
second ploughed down mound as a barrow has not been confirmed and so it is has
not been included in the scheduling.

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 Bradley Park bowl barrow has been somewhat disturbed by ploughing and
small-scale excavation, it is still reasonably well-preserved and retains
substantial archaeological remains.

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)
Greaves, ?, 'Archaeological Journal' in , (1861), 69-70

Source: Historic England