Skip to main content

Monument record MDR1544 - Rusden Low Barrow, south-east of Woodside Farm, Middleton and Smerrill

Type and Period (4)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

SK 1911 6231. A skeleton was discovered during tree planting in May 1828. Excavation by T. Bateman took place on 10th November 1848, when the lower portion of a crouched skeleton, possibly that of 1828, was found in a rock-cut grave. Various finds included flint and antler, though none were associated with the burial. Romano British pottery, a bone comb with iron pins, an iron knife and a coin of Constantius Chlorus (293-306) may represent a disturbed later burial. On 11th November 1848, another crouched skeleton was found in a rock cut grave parallel to the first. An earlier burial had been moved to accommodate this one, the bones, beaker and antler being placed under a stone in one corner of the grave. The later burial was accompanied by a beaker and a flint, with the remains of a cleared burial by its head. On the 13th November 1848, a flint and part of a sandstone quern were found. The barrow is c.13 metres long and c.11 metres in breadth. (4,11,12,14). One of the beakers was of A2 form. (5). Tumulus. (6). Published survey (25') correct. (8). This plan publishes 'Human remains found' approximately 35 metres to the north of the mound. There is no surface indication of antiquity at the site and no authority for the publication was found. (9). A low, east-west elongated mound, built on a limestone knoll, beds of which outcrop to the north. The area to the north of the barrow has been used as a rubbish dump in the past. A possible old excavation trench runs in from the west, towards the centre of the mound. The mound is located so that it looks south-east towards Elton & Harthill Moor, i.e. towards the shale and gritstone rather than the limestone to the north and west. (13). This site is a large natural knoll that has indistinct traces of an artificial component at its summit which is c.13 by 11 metres across. (14). The iron knife and bone comb, found in a general trench may be Anglian in date. (14). Although the finds may represent a disturbed secondary Anglian burial, the dating is not conclusive and an alternative Roman interpretation is possible given the discovery of a both a coin and Roman pottery during the same excavation. (16). Other late finds from the barrow consisted of a bone comb with iron pins (possibly Romano-British or Anglo-Saxon), and an iron knife. (16). The quern discovered on 13th November 1848 could conceivably also be Roman. Interpretation of these finds is problematic. If regarded as a single grave group they could indicate either a disturbed Romano-British, or Anglian burial. The latter would involve the incorporation of Romano-British material within an Anglian funerary context, an occurrence noted elsewhere, but as yet unproven in Anglo-Saxon White Peak burials. Alternatively the coin and sherds may be viewed as a separate group, forming part of a wider group of Roman material occurring without obvious funerary association within the Peak barrows. (15)

Sources/Archives (16)

  • <1> Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1855. Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities at Lomberdale House. N98.
  • <2> Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. n.d.. Illustrations of Antiquity. Fol.31.
  • <3> Unpublished document: Bateman, T. Descriptions of, and Observations on, Further Discoveries in the Barrows of Derbyshire.
  • <4> Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1861. Ten Years' Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills. pp 43-44.
  • <5> Bibliographic reference: Abercromby, J. 1912. Bronze Age Pottery of the British Isles. p44,88.
  • <6> Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1955. 6".
  • <7> Article in serial: Fowler, M. 1955. 'The Transition from the late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 75, pp 77-112.
  • <8> Article in serial: Ozanne, A. 1962-3. 'The Peak Dwellers', Medieval Archaeology. Volume 6-7. p42.
  • <9> Personal Observation: F1 JB 17-FEB-66.
  • <10> Bibliographic reference: Clarke, D. 1970. Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • <11> Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. pp 74-75.
  • <12> Index: NDAT. 1506. 1506.
  • <13> Personal Observation: Smith, K. 1989. Pers. Comm.. 20/02/1989.
  • <14> Unpublished document: Barnatt, J. 1989. The Peak District Barrow Survey (updated 1994). Site 8:17.
  • <15> Bibliographic reference: R1 HEJ 11-JAN-94.
  • <16> Index: OS. SK 16 SE 125.. SK 16 SE 125..

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 1911 6231 (20m by 15m) (Centre)
Civil Parish MIDDLETON AND SMERRILL, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (3)

  • EDR45
  • EDR591
  • EDR1167

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Feb 2 2015 2:22PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.