Details

The monument includes a prehistoric cairn standing in open moorland close to
the escarpment of Harland Edge. The cairn is associated with contemporary
funerary remains within the surrounding area.

The cairn comprises a low gritstone mound occupying gently sloping ground to
the north of Harland Edge. This location provides extensive views to the north
over Brampton East Moor and in the direction of Wadshelf. The location of
three nearby contemporary funerary cairns and a cairnfield 1km to the north
west are visible from the monument. The cairn measures 1.5m by 2m and stands
0.3m high. There are no signs of disturbance to the monument indicating that
it has avoided damage through antiquarian excavation or quarrying.

The size and location of the monument indicate that it is funerary in function
and Bronze Age in date. As an undisturbed example of a round cairn, the
monument is likely to contain intact funerary deposits. The cairn represents
a ceremonial site that, taken in conjunction with nearby contemporary funerary
and agricultural monuments, provides substantial evidence for the settlement
and ceremonial use of the surrounding area during the Bronze Age. Other
prehistoric mouments on the moor are protected separately.

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

The East Moors in Derbyshire includes all the gritstone moors east of the
River Derwent. It covers an 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-connections,
will be identified as nationally important.

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 were 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 275m south east of Hob Hurst's House remains intact and will
contain undisturbed funerary deposits. The monument is also important because
of its position in the landscape, being associated with several nearby
funerary cairns and overlooking a cairnfield to the north.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J W, The Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey (Moorlands), (1998), area 18
Barnatt, J W, The Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey (Moorlands), (1998), 100-112
Other
Title: Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey Chatsworth Moorlands
Source Date: 1998
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Survey plan

Source: Historic England