Details

Round Low bowl barrow is a roughly circular barrow situated near Harborough
Rocks on Hopton Moor in the south-eastern uplands of the limestone plateau of
Derbyshire. The monument includes a mound measuring 18.5m by 16.5m and
standing c.2m high. The barrow is situated on the edge of Bee Nest Mine and is
slightly damaged in the top and sides, probably by miners who dug into it
believing it to be a spoil heap left behind after earlier lead exploration. In
1848 it was partially excavated by Thomas Bateman and a pottery urn discovered
which contained flint artefacts and calcined bones from a human cremation.
These indicate a Bronze Age date for the barrow.

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 and mining activity, Round Low bowl
barrow is still substantially intact and a visually impressive example.

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), 37

Source: Historic England