Details

The monument is situated north of Perry Dale, in the north-west uplands of the
limestone plateau of Derbyshire, and includes a long barrow and a bowl barrow
within a single area. The long barrow includes a linear mound measuring 54m by
27m. The long axis runs from north-east to south-west and the mound is c.0.75m
high at the south end and c.0.5m high at the north end. The bowl barrow, which
was constructed on top of the long barrow at its north end, includes a roughly
circular mound with a diameter of c.25m and a height of c.1m. A hole at the
centre of the bowl barrow may be due to its being quarried for stone by
18th century wall builders. This is indicated by Bray who, writing in 1775,
reports that a large number of human bones were found in the barrow. It may
alternatively be the site of a partial excavation carried out by Rooke
Pennington in c.1870. Pennington found two limestone cists or graves
containing the remains of clay funerary pots. These remains date the bowl
barrow to the Bronze Age while the long barrow is somewhat older and was
constructed during the Neolithic period. The drystone wall which crosses the
northern end of the monument is excluded from the scheduling though the ground
underneath 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

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking
ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic
periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early
farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments
surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows
appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the
human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide
evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and,
consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites
for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 long
barrows are recorded in England. As one of the few types of Neolithic
structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their
considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are
considered to be nationally important.

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 2400-1500BC. 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 of 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 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 Perry Dale bowl barrow survives only moderately well, having been
disturbed by stone-getting and excavation, it nonetheless retains significant
archaeological remains in its undisturbed areas and is important for its
relationship with the earlier long barrow. The long barrow itself appears to
have gone unrecognised in the past and so remains largely intact.

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)
Bray, W, Sketch of a Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire, (1775)
Pennington, R, 'Reliquary' in , (1874), 86

Source: Historic England