Monument record MDR2230 - Perry Dale bowl barrow and long barrow, Peak Forest
Type and Period (4)
- LONG CAIRN (Early Neolithic to Middle Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2701 BC)
- INHUMATION (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- ROUND BARROW (Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 701 BC)
- CIST (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
SK 1092 8119: Perryfoot, Long Cairn and Round barrow: A very large barrow of irregular oblong shape, at Perry Foot near the Castleton and Buxton road. It was partially explored by Pennington, who found two contracted interments and animal bones. (3). Tumulus. (5)
This is a very large, but perfectly circular, earth packed cairn, much mutilated and robbed for stone. There is no visible retaining circle. Maximum height is now 1.7 m. Resurveyed at 1/2500. Amorphous earthworks extending to the west are spoil from adjacent quarry workings. (6)
The orientation given in (9) is spurious. The long barrow measures c.50 - 54m x c.18m, and originally would have been broader at its east end. It is currently 1.2m downslope, 0.4m high upslope and placed so as to follow the contour at the edge of a low flat topped ridge at the head of the Peak Forest basin. It has been robbed throughout much of its visible length and may originally have been somewhat higher. One possible intact portion to the south-east suggests robbing has only been slight if extensive. The superimposed round barrow appears to have been placed north of the long cairn axis, if present barrow profiles are to be trusted, and to have a diameter of c.22m. The interior is heavily mutilated but it appears to have been a minimum of c.0.5m higher than the long barrow. The two crouched inhumations found by Pennington are not necessarily secondary, they were accompanied by a sherd, and large quantities of animal bones, including ox, red deer, roe deer, horse, pig, goat and dog. This casts doubt on the interpretation of the bones found in the 18th century as being human. The quote in (9) of "long formed" skulls from Pennington, was made in the context of a general discussion and may not apply to those found here. The date of this round barrow is uncertain but may be Bronze Age rather than Neolithic. The location of the excavations at the site in the 18th century, and by Pennington in the early 1870s, are unknown, hence these may also relate to the round rather than the long barrow. (10)
Scheduled. The monument is situated north of Perry Dale, in the north-west uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire, and includes a long barrow and a bowl barrow within a single area. The long barrow includes a linear mound measuring 54m by 27m. The long axis runs from north-east to south-west and the mound is c.0.75m high at the south end and c.0.5m high at the north end. The bowl barrow, which was constructed on top of the long barrow at its north end, includes a roughly circular mound with a diameter of c.25m and a height of c.1m. A hole at the centre of the bowl barrow may be due to its being quarried for stone by 18th century wall builders. This is indicated by Bray who, writing in 1775, reports that a large number of human bones were found in the barrow. It may alternatively be the site of a partial excavation carried out by Rooke Pennington in c.1870. Pennington found two limestone cists or graves containing the remains of clay funerary pots. These remains date the bowl barrow to the Bronze Age while the long barrow is somewhat older and was constructed during the Neolithic period. The drystone wall which crosses the northern end of the monument is excluded from the scheduling though the ground underneath is included. (11).
Neolithic long barrow situated on a low ridge top. A later Neolithic or Bronze Age round barrow is superimposed on the eastern end of the long barrow. The barrow was excavated in the 18th century by Bray and in the 19th century by Pennington, but has also been extensively disturbed by robbing. (12).
Sources/Archives (13)
- <1> SDR3400 Bibliographic reference: Bray, W. 1783. Sketch of a Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire. 184. p 239.
- <2> SDR12601 Article in serial: Pennington, R. 1874. Notes on a Barrows Opening near Castleton. Reliquary. Volume 14. pp 85-88.
- <3> SDR12600 Bibliographic reference: Pennington, R. 1877. Notes on the Barrows and Bone Caves of Derbyshire. p 28-29.
- <4> SDR4433 Article in serial: Addy, S. 1908. 'The names of the Derbyshire and Staffordshire barrows', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 30, pp 103-141. p123.
- <5> SDR11764 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1955. 6".
- <6> SDR6293 Personal Observation: F1 FRH 03-SEP-65.
- <7> SDR8643 Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. p 1.
- <8> SDR14617 Index: NDAT. 1706.
- <9> SDR7074 Bibliographic reference: Hart, C. 1986. Searches for the Early Neolithic: A study of Peakland Long Cairns.
- <10> SDR2466 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J. 1989. The Peak District Barrow Survey (updated 1994). Site 1:4.
- <11> SDR18491 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1994. Scheduling Notification: Perry Dale Barrow. 23269. Cat. No.: 328.
- <12> SDR20429 Unpublished document: Ullathorne, A (PDNPA). 2003. Perrydale Farm, Peak Forest, Derbyshire, archaeological survey, 2003. Feature 18, p 12.
- <13> SDR18971 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). Slide Collection. 11607.1-3.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 1092 8119 (30m by 29m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | PEAK FOREST, HIGH PEAK, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (4)
- EDR1569
- EDR514
- EDR787
- EDR1570
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 16 2010 10:25AM