Monument record MDR2253 - Possible Round Barrow, Mam Tor, Castleton

SK 1275 8360: Mam Tor, Round barrow: Near the south-west side of Mam Tor hillfort (SMR 3319), are two barrows (see SMR 3316), one has been levelled by the erection of a home-guard post or hut. (3) Both features are round barrows, completely of earth. "B" has been levelled to a maximum height of 0.8m and now carries a trig. Pillar. Resurveyed at 1/2500 on the 26th August 1962 and checked on the 15th September 1965. See SMR 3319 for survey. A second barrow within the hillfort is noted by several early authorities as being located near the south-west end of the fort (Bray 1775; Pegge 1785; Bateman 1848; Pennington 1877). In 1956 Preston, in the Hunter Society Index noted that it was levelled by the Home Guard when building a hut. In 1965 the Ordnance Survey recorded that the mound was 0.8m high with a trig. Pillar on top. (4). The last account is probably erroneous. Today the trig pillar survives on the crest of a large knoll which almost certainly is wholly or largely natural. From the west this has the illusory appearance of a large barrow. It is far from clear if early authorities mistook this knoll for a barrow or if a true barrow existed here prior to 1939-1945. The problem is compounded by extensive erosion by walkers across the whole knoll summit and areas of its sides. Imported stone chippings introduced in an attempt to control this, may have masked features. Several lines of concentric small slabs appear to be modern features associated with footpath maintenance, but this is not certainly so. Erosion is likely to increase unless access is restricted (difficult to do given the popularity of the site). Excavations should be undertaken to determine if any vestiges of a barrow survive. (7) Of the two bowl barrows [SMR 3316 and 3317] located in the southern third, one was said by Thomas Bateman to have been partially excavated by persons unknown in the early 19th century when human bones, prehistoric pottery and a bronze flat axe were found. It is not certain whether the other barrow has been excavated or which of the barrows is the excavated example. This barrow [SMR 3317], lies 80m to the north-east at the highest point of the ridge and was damaged during World War II when it was partially levelled to create a searchlight emplacement. It is now the site of a trig point. (8) It is recorded that this barrow was levelled by the home guard in the Second World War. There is a large natural knoll, partially excavated in 1993 by Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust, which revealed the edge of a circular structure on the crest of the knoll, which may be the barrow referred to. (9).