Details

Liffs Low bowl barrow is a sub-circular cairn situated on the south-western
ridges of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire on the eastward side of The
Liffs. The monument includes a mound measuring 18m by 14.5m with an average
height of c.1.5m. A Neolithic date for the monument is indicated by its
location beneath the crest of a hill and is corroborated by the partial
excavations carried out by Thomas Bateman in 1843 when it was found that the
cairn contained at least one cist with an inhumation burial accompanied by
flint and antler artefacts and a pot of unusual form dating to the transition
between the Neolithic and Beaker periods. A second partial excavation carried
out in the 1930s revealed a second cist containing a skeleton and a beaker.
Bronze staining on some of the bones indicates the re-use of the cairn in the
early 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 disturbed by excavation, Liffs Low bowl barrow is still a
well-preserved example containing further 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)
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849), 41-43
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977)
Smith, K, 'Peak Park News' in The Mystery Man of Liff's Low, , Vol. 4, (1984)

Source: Historic England