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Monument record MDR1940 - Cow Low Bowl Barrow, north-east of Bottom Farm, Green Fairfield

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SK 1027 7297: Cow Low Bowl barrow (Bronze Age round barrow and intrusive Anglian secondary inhumation). Dimensions: 29m X 25m, height 1.7m. The barrow was opened by T. Bateman on the 29th August 1846. It is crossed by field walls to the north and south. A primary crouched skeleton (female) beneath a large flat stone, resting on a layer of burnt bones was found. Other artefacts found from this layer were a bone pin, part of a dog's skull and horse's teeth. A mass of bones of at least five individuals lay above the primary skeleton. Above this, a small cist containing a crouched female skeleton and two jet necklaces. A hexagonal cist above this contained two crouched skeletons, jammed in, one above the other. The lower one was accompanied by a food vessel of type 3(II). The cremation was scattered above the latter cist. Near the surface was an intrusive Anglian burial. (7) Cow Low bowl barrow (Tunstead Quarry) is a sub-circular barrow situated north of Wye Dale on the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a mound measuring 29m by 25m and standing 1.7m high. This has been slightly disturbed on the northern and south-eastern edges by quarrying and has a small hollow in the top believed to have resulted from a minor excavation carried out prior to 1811 when human bones and `ancient implements' were found. The barrow is also the site of important finds made during a partial excavation by Thomas Bateman in 1846. These included a primary crouched female skeleton covered by a large flat stone and lying on a layer of burnt bones containing horse teeth, part of a dog's skull and a bone pin. Above the skeleton were found the jumbled bones of five more interments and, above those, a small cist containing a crouched female skeleton with two jet necklaces. Above this two more crouched skeletons were found, one on top of the other, inside a hexagonal cist, the lower accompanied by a food vessel. A scattered cremation lay above this cist and an intrusive Anglian burial, dating to c.AD700, was found near to the surface. The earlier remains indicate that the barrow dates to the Bronze Age and had an extended period of use throughout that period. Accompanying the Anglian inhumation were a glass vessel, a pin and chain, a blue glass bead and a silver necklace, a hinged wooden box and other implements including a comb and fragments of iron. The barrow also lies within a relict landscape which includes Romano-British field boundaries and settlement sites. (10) The Anglian secondary inhumation was a decayed skeleton accompanied by two 7th century gold pins, a glass bead, cloth bound wooden box with brass pins and fittings, a green-glass palm-cup, bone and ivory objects and a necklace of silver and glass. (7) Finds within the box included not only the palm-cup, but also a dogtooth and 'iron instruments'. The gold pins were linked by a chain and had glass set at the heads. The ivory objects included a comb. The necklace was of glass beads set in silver. (9)

Sources/Archives (10)

  • <1> Bibliographic reference: Jewitt, A. 1811. History of Buxton. p 81.
  • <2> Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1848. Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire. pp 91-95.
  • <3> Bibliographic reference: Haverfield, F. 1905. Victoria County History: Derbyshire, Vol.1. p 256.
  • <4> 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.
  • <5> Article in serial: Manby, T. 1957. 'Food vessels of the Peak District', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 77, pp 1-29.
  • <6> Bibliographic reference: Meaney, A. 1964. A Gazetteer of Early Anglo-Saxon Burial Sites. pp 74-75.
  • <7> Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. pp 41-42.
  • <8> Index: NDAT. 1017. 1017.
  • <9> Unpublished document: Barnatt, J. 1989. The Peak District Barrow Survey (updated 1994). Site 2:2.
  • <10> Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1992. Scheduling Notification. 13349. Cat. No.: 304.

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Grid reference Centred SK 1027 7297 (32m by 33m) (Centre)
Civil Parish GREEN FAIRFIELD, HIGH PEAK, DERBYSHIRE

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Related Events/Activities (5)

  • EDR16
  • EDR330
  • EDR88
  • EDR3663
  • EDR1618

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Record last edited

Aug 7 2017 3:09PM

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