Scheduled Monument: CAIRN 400M NORTH WEST OF NEWBRIDGE FARM (1019511)

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 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 400m north west of Newbridge Farm survives well despite partial disturbance and will contain evidence relating to the landscape in which it was constructed. In addition it is important in its association with contemporary settlement remains to the west and in its commanding position in the landscape. DETAILS The monument includes a prehistoric cairn standing to the east of and overlooking a complex of contemporary settlement remains. The cairn comprises a mound of surface-worn gritstones standing in open moorland on the crest of a minor escarpment. From this position there are extensive views over contemporary settlement and ceremonial features in the surrounding area. The cairn measures 12.5m by 10m and stands 0.6m high. It has been disturbed at its centre although the rim of the monument is intact and much of its internal structure survives. Undisturbed archaeological information will survive in the undisturbed parts of the cairn and in the ground below it. 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 settlement remains to the west which the cairn overlooks. The monument represents a ceremonial site being part of a complex series of contemporary features on the same area of moorlands. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, J - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989) - Date: 1989 - Page References: 29:15 Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, J - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989) - Date: 1989 - Page References: 29:15