Ancient Monuments

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Nether Low bowl barrow

A Scheduled Monument in Chelmorton, Derbyshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 53.2195 / 53°13'10"N

Longitude: -1.8384 / 1°50'18"W

OS Eastings: 410889.546901

OS Northings: 369176.886417

OS Grid: SK108691

Mapcode National: GBR 34X.420

Mapcode Global: WHCD4.QBSP

Entry Name: Nether Low bowl barrow

Scheduled Date: 10 June 1970

Last Amended: 1 December 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1011207

English Heritage Legacy ID: 23285

County: Derbyshire

Civil Parish: Chelmorton

Traditional County: Derbyshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Derbyshire

Church of England Parish: Chelmorton and Flagg St John the Baptist

Church of England Diocese: Derby

Details

The monument is located in the western uplands of the limestone plateau of
Derbyshire and is a roughly circular bowl barrow comprising a mound measuring
20m by 19m wide and standing c.1.6m high. The barrow, which is of cairn
construction, was disturbed by stone getters in the late eighteenth or early
nineteenth century; a fact noted by Thomas Bateman who carried out two partial
excavations of the site in 1849. During his first investigation, Bateman found
the remains of two burials: one an inhumation, the other a cremation. During
his second exploration, he found, at the west side of the barrow, three
inhumations, at least one of which was contracted, lying in rock-cut graves.
The contracted skeleton was accompanied by a partially serrated knife and a
spearpoint, both of flint, while one of the other two was accompanied by a
boar tusk, a piece of haematite, a flint tool and a jet bead found close to
the neck. Above the latter burial, closer to the surface of the mound, a
fourth skeleton was found in a cist or grave covered by a capstone and
accompanied by deer antlers and a flint point. A further flint implement and
the remains of an infant were found near the edge of the barrow. The remains
date the barrow to the Bronze Age.
The field walls crossing the edges of the monument are excluded from the
scheduling although the ground beneath 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.

Although Nether Low bowl barrow has been partially excavated and disturbed by
stone-getting, it is still reasonably well-preserved and retains further
significant 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, Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills, (1861), 51-2
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977), 28

Source: Historic England

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