Details

Masson Hill is located on the south-eastern edge of the limestone plateau of
Derbyshire. The monument is a roughly circular bowl barrow comprising a squat
mound with a diameter of 19m by 20m and a maximum height of 1.5m. Around the
outside of the mound is a 2m wide construction ditch. There has been no
recorded excavation of the barrow which, due to its hilltop location and
similarity to others of the period, has been dated to the Bronze Age. The
barrow commands wide views over all the surrounding countryside and is
mutually visible with Minninglow, 1.5km to the west. The stone base of a trig
point and the drystone wall crossing the edge of the monument are excluded
from the scheduling although the ground underneath is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 3 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.

The bowl barrow on Masson Hill is a very well preserved example which appears
to have suffered very little disturbance and so retains intact archaeological
remains throughout.

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), 22

Source: Historic England