Scheduled Monument: CAIRN ON LUDWORTH INTAKES (1008596)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION 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 cairn on Ludworth Intakes is a reasonably well preserved example which may have been partially excavated revealing evidence of Bronze Age use. Although somewhat disturbed by past land use, it retains substantial intact archaeological remains. DETAILS Ludworth Intakes is located on the western edge of the north west gritstone moorlands of the Peak District. The monument includes an irregularly shaped grass-covered gritstone cairn measuring c.25m north-south by 15.5m east-west and standing c.1.5m high. The irregularity of the cairn is due to the material being spread by an antiquarian delve and past land use and, originally, it would have been more uniformly circular. Disturbance on the west side indicates that it may be the cairn in this area which was recorded by Marriott as having been partially excavated c.1809. This partial excavation revealed cremated remains in a pottery urn, indicating that the cairn dated to the Bronze Age. The cairn lies at the junction of three Enclosure period drystone walls and also occupies the parish and county boundary between Marple and Chisworth. The walls and fencing crossing the monument are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is included. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1988 - Type: PLAN: MEASURED - Description: Site 21;2 Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, John - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey - Date: 1988 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: Site 21;2 Book Reference - Author: Marriott - Date: 1810 - Page References: 375-384 - Type: DESC TEXT