Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a round cairn on the
boulder-strewn spine of The Stiperstones, south of a tor known as Cranberry
Rock.
The cairn is composed of angular blocks of stone placed on a rock outcrop,
which is aligned north-south with its west face showing. The cairn measures
about 7m north-south and 4m east-west, and survives to a maximum height of 1m.
Material used in its construction was obtained from the surrounding clitter
and from a ditch which surrounded the eastern half of the cairn. Although not
visible at ground level, the ditch is believed to survive as a buried feature,
about 1m in width.

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

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age
(c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or
multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined
compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch.
Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the
modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are
the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of
their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.

The round cairn south of Cranberry Rock is a well-preserved example of this
class of monument. It is one of group of similar and broadly contemporary
monuments on the summit of The Stiperstones. Together these monuments will
provide significant information about the social organisation and ritual
practices of the Bronze Age communities which inhabited this upland area.

Source: Historic England