Scheduled Monument: LARKS LOW BOWL BARROW (1008060)

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 Larks Low bowl barrow has been partly excavated and disturbed by past agricultural practice, it still survives reasonably well and retains further significant archaeological remains. DETAILS The monument is located in the central uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire and is a bowl barrow which includes a sub-circular one metre high mound measuring 13 metres by 8½ metres in diameter. Originally the barrow would have been more uniformly circular with a diameter of c.10 metres, but the profile has been altered by past agricultural activities. A partial excavation of the site was carried out by William Bateman and Mitchell in 1825 when a limestone cist or grave was revealed and found to cover a pit in the old land surface which contained the remains of two cremation burials and an inhumation. Accompanying these burials was a collared urn and a smaller vessel known as a pygmy cup. Further human and animal bones were found in the mound above the cist in addition to quartz pebbles, a whetstone and a bronze pin. These remains date the barrow to the Bronze Age. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1989 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: Site 8;16 Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1989 - Type: PLAN: MEASURED - Description: Site 8;16 Book Reference - Author: Bateman, T. - Title: Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire - Date: 1848 - Page References: 33 - Type: DESC TEXT