Details

The monument includes a stone cairn situated on a spur of land overlooking the
Burbage Valley, with a Bronze Age cairnfield and field system to the immediate
north east. The monument lies on gently sloping, open moorland in the eastern
gritstone moors of the Peak District.
The cairn measures approximately 7.5m in diameter and is roughly circular in
plan. It stands about 1m in height and appears to be undisturbed and in good
condition. The cairn is partly covered with turf but some of the stones
forming the cairn are exposed in places. The cairn occupies a prominent
location overlooking a prehistoric cairnfield and field system to the east,
which form the subject of a separate scheduling. Separating the cairn from
the cairnfield is an area of often boggy ground and a small stream. The area
appears to have been avoided by prehistoric farmers as unsuitable for
agricultural purposes, but buried remains may lie beneath the accumulated peat
and turf. To the east of the cairn is a small area of cleared land towards
the edge of the spur, which may be a remote extension of the cleared area of
the cairnfield and field system to the north east. Alternatively, this may
simply be an area where gathered stones were taken for the construction of the
cairn itself. The cairn is larger than most of those in the cairnfield to the
east, indicating that its function may have been different.
The cairn is likely to belong to the Bronze Age period, as with many of the
archaeological remains in the vicinity. Its isolated position, prominent
location, and relatively large size, indicate that it may have been used as a
funerary monument. Since it is undisturbed, any human burial remains are
likely to remain intact. As with many cairns in areas of prehistoric
agricultural activity in this region, the monument may originally have been a
clearance cairn which became enlarged at a slightly later date with the
insertion of human burial remains.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The East Moors in Derbyshire includes all the gritstone moors east of the
River Derwent. It covers and area of 105 sq km, of which around 63% is open
moorland and 37% is enclosed. As a result of recent and on-going
archaeological survey, the East Moors area is becoming one of the best
recorded upland areas in England. On the enclosed land the archaeological
remains are fragmentary, but survive sufficiently well to show that early
human activity extended beyond the confines of the open moors.
On the open moors there is significant and well-articulated evidence over
extensive areas for human exploitation of the gritstone uplands from the
Neolithic to the post-medieval periods. Bronze Age activity accounts for the
most intensive use of the moorlands. Evidence for it includes some of the
largest and best preserved field systems and cairnfields in northern England
as well as settlement sites, numerous burial monuments, stone circles and
other ceremonial remains which, together, provide a detailed insight into life
in the Bronze Age. Also of importance is the well preserved and often visible
relationship between the remains of earlier and later periods, since this
provides an insight into successive changes in land use through time. A large
number of the prehistoric sites on the moors, because of their rarity in a
national context, excellent state of preservation and inter-connection, will
be identified as nationally important.

Funerary cairns such as this are dated to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC).
They are a relatively common feature in the uplands of Britain and are the
stone equivalents of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
The cairn 380m south west of Burbage Bridge is a complete and undisturbed
cairn forming a particularly well preserved Bronze Age relic of the East Moors
of the Peak Distirct. It is likely to contain burial remains.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849)
Barnatt, J W, 'Derbyshire Archaeological Journal' in Bronze Age Remains on the East Moors of the Peak District, , Vol. 106, (1986), 32
Beswick, P, Merrills, D, 'Trans. of the Hunter Archaeological Soc.' in L H Butcher's Survey of Early Settlement ..., , Vol. 12, (1983)
Other
Barnatt, J W, Peak District Barrow Survey, 1989, unpublished survey

Source: Historic England