Monument record MDR1893 - Priestcliffe Lowe Round Barrow, 189m west of Low End Farm, Taddington
Type and Period (3)
- ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
- CREMATION (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
- INHUMATION (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
An apparently large barrow near Taddington, called Priestcliffe Lowe was opened on the 1st September 1846 but the rock was only lightly covered with soil and stones and only a small piece of urn and burnt bones were found. (2)
[SK 13507191] TUMULUS. (3). Published survey revised. Maximum height 2.2m. (4)
This bowl-shaped mound may be partly natural, but it is certainly a barrow, as indicated by T. Bateman's finds. Jewitt noted that 'human bodies' were found prior to 1811. Large areas of the mound may well remain unexplored. (6)
Priestcliffe Low is a bowl-shaped mound, 1.2 to 1.5 metres high and with an ovoid plan of diameter 23.5 to 19 metres. It was excavated by Bateman in 1847 when an urn and burnt bones were discovered. A field wall crosses the eastern side of the barrow and it may have been disturbed by ploughing. The barrow appears to utilise a natural knoll (5). It probably dates from the later Neolithic to the earlier Bronze Age. (8).
Scheduled. The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow known as Priestcliffe Low, comprising a mound of earth and limestone standing in an elevated area directly to the east of a steep escarpment. The mound measures 23.5m by 19m
and stands 1.5m high, appearing well defined and carefully constructed.
The location of the monument confers extensive views in all directions and the barrow is easily visible from much of the surrounding area. The monument is associated with a spring that rises some 80m to the east of the mound. Small
areas of the northern and western limits of the mound have been quarried, almost certainly to build the drystone wall that runs north-south across the eastern side of the monument. A minor disturbance to the centre of the mound
is indicative of an antiquarian excavation, and may represent the excavations of September 1846 documented by Thomas Bateman.
Bateman's investigation revealed the remains of a cremation and a fragment of decorated funerary urn.
As an isolated monument, Priestcliffe Low is indicative of the ceremonial use of this area during the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. (9)
The farmer described the barrow as 'in good condition' and under no threat. There is a hollow in the centre, with a hollowed section to the outside, as if dug into earlier, but not in the farmer's memory. (10)
Sources/Archives (9)
- <1> SDR8082 Bibliographic reference: Jewitt, A. 1811. History of Buxton.
- <2> SDR2903 Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1848. Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire. p95.
- <3> SDR11764 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1955. 6".
- <4> SDR6099 Personal Observation: F1 BHS 16-DEC-65.
- <5> SDR8643 Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. p 95.
- <6> SDR2466 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J. 1989. The Peak District Barrow Survey (updated 1994). Site 5:9.
- <7> SDR14120 Index: NDAT. 1859. 1859.
- <8> SDR20346 Unpublished document: Bevan, B & Sidebottom, P (PDNPA). 1995. Priestcliffe Hall Farm, Taddigton, Derbyshire, archaeological survey, 1995. No. 41, pp16-17.
- <9> SDR18872 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 2001. Scheduling description: Bowl barrow known as Priestcliffe Low. SAM 31302. Cat. No. 520.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 1350 7191 (19m by 18m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | TADDINGTON, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (5)
- EDR16
- EDR610
- EDR613
- EDR89
- EDR1133
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Dec 18 2007 1:28PM