Scheduled Monument: ONE OF TWO BOWL BARROWS ON BOLE HILL (1008942)

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 partially disturbed by quarrying and excavation, the south-western bowl barrow on Bole Hill is reasonably well preserved and still contains undisturbed archaeological remains. DETAILS This barrow is the south-western of two bowl barrows situated on Bole Hill and is a sub-circular cairn in a hill-top location lying north of Wye Dale on the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a flat-topped mound measuring 19.5m by 15m by c.1m high. This was partially quarried for its stone at the time of the Enclosures when two bronze `celts' or axe-blades were found. In 1846 Thomas Bateman carried out a partial excavation and recovered the remains of two inhumations and a cremation along with a number of flints. One of the inhumations was on the old land surface beneath the barrow and would have been the primary burial while the other was found nearer the surface and was probably a secondary insertion. The material from the barrow dates it to the Bronze Age. A boundary bank adjacent to the mound on its south-east side is from a much later period and not directly related to the monument. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, J - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989) - Date: 1989 Book Reference - Author: Barnatt, J - Title: The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989) - Date: 1989 Book Reference - Author: Bateman - Title: Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire - Type: DESC TEXT Book Reference - Author: Lewis, G D - Title: The Bronze Age in the Southern Pennines - Date: 1970 - Type: DESC TEXT - Description: Thesis Book Reference - Author: Marsden, BM - Title: The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire (1977) - Date: 1977 - Type: DESC TEXT