Scheduled Monument: ROUND CAIRN AT GOSPEL HILLOCKS, COWDALE (1012595)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The cairn is a well-preserved and rare example of an upland Neolithic/Bronze Age burial monument and is part of the rich Bronze Age landscape of the Peak District. Its proximity to an an earlier example is of additional importance. Excavation in the nineteenth century suggests the cairn was utilised over a long period of time, with secondary burials being inserted after the primary pit burial. Despite these early explorations, a significant proportion of undisturbed deposits are anticipated to survive within the cairn and the ditch. In addition, the ancient land surface will be preserved under the cairn. DETAILS One of two cairns at Gospel Hillocks, lying c.100m apart. Measuring 14m x 13m in diameter and c.1m high, it was opened in 1896 and found to contain a pit under a large slab in which the primary burial had been laid: a crouched inhumation covered with a mixture of clay, leaves and charcoal and associated with burnt bones. Two later disturbed inhumations were found near the turf, along with flint flakes and additional burnt bones. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, J - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989) - Date: 1989 - Type: DESC TEXT Article Reference - Author: Ward, J - Title: Proc. Soc. Antiquities (Vol 17) - Date: 1899 - Journal Title: Proc. Soc. Antiquities - Volume: 17 - Page References: 310-12 - Type: DESC TEXT