Scheduled Monument: CAIRN 450M NORTH EAST OF RAVEN TOR (1019482)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION 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. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst prehistoric communities. The cairn 450m north east of Raven Tor is important as a well-preserved example of this monument type. It is also associated with more extensive contemporary remains to the north which together formed important components in the wider prehistoric landscape. DETAILS The monument includes a prehistoric funerary cairn located in an isolated position in open moorland. The cairn comprises a mound of surface-worn gritstones standing on a ridge of moorland overlooking land to the north and west. It measures 6m by 7.5m and stands 0.5m high. Although there is a slight disturbance close to its centre, the cairn is otherwise intact and will contain undisturbed archaeological remains. The size and location of the cairn indicates that it is funerary in function and Early Bronze Age in date. It is almost certainly associated with the Bronze Age settlements which the cairn overlooks to the north. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, JW - Title: The Chatsworth Estate Historic Landscape Survey (Moorlands) - Date: 1998 - Page References: 162