Details

Wardlow Hay Cop is a steep-sided hill on the western edge of Longstone Moor on
the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a sub-circular
bowl barrow measuring 30m by 26.5m which has suffered some disturbance on the
north-west side but is otherwise intact. The barrow is situated in a
prominent position at the summit of the hill and incorporates a natural knoll
to give it height and bulk. The elevation on the west side, where the
hillside drops away sharply into Cressbrook Dale, is c.4m while on the
remaining sides it is c.2m. No recorded excavation has been carried out on
the barrow which, due to its appearance and similarity to others of the
period, has been assigned to the Bronze Age. Excluded from the scheduling is
the trig point set into the summit of the mound but the ground beneath it is
included.

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.

Wardlow Hay Cop bowl barrow is a large and well-preserved example which,
although partly natural and somewhat disturbed on the north-west side,
includes large areas of undisturbed 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)
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 98

Source: Historic England