Scheduled Monument: KENSLOW KNOLL BOWL BARROW (1007993)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION 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 the centre and part of the edge of Kenslow Knoll bowl barrow have been disturbed by excavation, significant archaeological remains are preserved in the unexcavated areas. DETAILS Kenslow Knoll bowl barrow occupies a hilltop position in the central uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument is a sub-circular barrow measuring 19½ metres by 16 metres. It has a level top and stands c.¾ metres high. Partial excavations carried out by William Bateman in 1821 and Thomas Bateman in 1848 revealed a lined rock-cut grave containing an inhumation accompanied by a round-heeled bronze dagger with three rivets and a number of quartz pebbles which surrounded the head. A second inhumation was accompanied by a Romano-British penannular brooch and pot sherd. The grave also contained a stone battleaxe, burnt bones indicative of a cremation burial, and a rubbing stone, while, elsewhere in the mound, various human and animal bones were found in addition to fragments of a polished stone axe, numerous flint and bone implements, a shale ring, sherds of Beaker pottery, seven perforated bone crescents and an iron knife. The remains indicate that the barrow originated in the Early Bronze Age but that it was re-used in the Romano-British period. The iron knife suggests that it was also used in the Anglian period. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1989 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: Site 8;19 Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1989 - Type: PLAN: MEASURED - Description: Site 8;19 Book Reference - Author: Bateman, T. - Title: Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire - Date: 1848 - Page References: 28-30 - Type: DESC TEXT Book Reference - Author: Bateman, Thomas - Title: Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills (1861) - Date: 1861 - Page References: 20-22 - Type: DESC TEXT Book Reference - Author: Clarke, D.L. - Title: Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland - Date: 1970 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: No. 1348 Book Reference - Author: Marsden B - Title: The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire (1977) - Date: 1977 - Page References: 73-4 - Type: DESC TEXT