Monument record MDR2793 - Green Low chambered round barrow, Aldwark
Type and Period (2)
- CHAMBERED ROUND BARROW (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
- INHUMATION (Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2351 BC)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Green Low, a chambered round barrow opened by Bateman on the 19th July 1843. Bateman's description and Manby's plan [AO/LP/62/37] show clearly that it is this barrow. (1,3,5). [SK 23155804] Tumulus. (4).
It was re-excavated by T.G. Manby in 1963 and 1964 and described as a late Neolithic round cairn with a façade of coursed limestone blocks on the south side, central to which is the chamber entrance. The presence of Roman coins and pottery indicate the passage and possibly the chamber were entered in the late 3rd century. (6).
The barrow was resurveyed at 1/2500 in 1966. (7).
This site comprises an oval mound, with a central chamber, with a passed to a horned corecourt to the south-south-east. It is much as Bateman recorded it in 1843 except for the collapse of one of the chamber sides and the clearing of the forecourt. Prior to 1843 the top of the mound and capstones had been removed. Today the mound is 0.4 to 0.7 metres high. A drystone wall crosses its southern edge. The chamber, passage and forecourt are of passage grave type but have atypical characteristics. (10).
A fragment of a stone axe from beneath the tomb has been examined petrologically, and belongs to Group IV-Banded. (11). P
hotographic record. (12).
"Several Roman coins were found by boys grubbing in a tumulus at Aldwark, five miles west of Matlock". (2). Mr G Cooper recalled that when he was a boy, a slab on the western side of Green Low barrow was leaning. He dug into the cairn west of this stone and found two Roman coins. (5).
The coins were found at SK 23165804 in Green Low by Mr G Cooper of Greenlow Farm, and his brother. Now in the possession of Mr. T. G. Manby of the Museum Farley Hall, Leeds. (8).
Green Low chambered tomb became a scheduled monument on the 27th October 1970 and is located in the south-eastern uplands of the limestone plateau of Derbyshire. The monument includes a sub-circular mound measuring 22.5 metres by 19 metres and surviving to a height of c.0.75 metres. The profile of the barrow has been lowered by stone-robbing carried out in the eighteenth century. This activity exposed a single wedge-shaped chamber towards the southern end of the barrow constructed of limestone slabs and measuring 1.8 metres long by between 0.9 metres and 1.5 metres wide. This was approached from the south by a short paved passage which, together with the chamber, was excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1843 and found to contain disturbed human and animal remains and sherds of Neolithic pottery. A second partial excavation of the barrow was carried out in 1963 and 1964 under the direction of T G Manby. At this time the passage was found to lead from the centre of a walled façade set c.5 metres in from the southern edge of the barrow. The façade was 9.9 metres long and survived to a height of c.0.5 metres as four courses of horizontally laid limestone blocks. The ends terminated against projecting wings of barrow material, creating a forecourt measuring 8.25 metres from east to west by 2.4 metres from north to south. After burials had been placed in the passage and chamber, the tomb was closed by filling the forecourt with rubble. The rest of the barrow was built of horizontally laid limestone blocks covered over with earth. A disarticulated skeleton was found east of the chamber and further human bones were found to the north but scattered amongst the barrow material, indicating that they were incorporated during construction. Beaker sherds, pieces of grooved ware pottery and fragments of a polished greenstone axe indicate a Late Neolithic date for the barrow. However, a disturbed area against the west side of the chamber, from which Roman coins and pottery of the late third century AD were recovered, show that the barrow was re-used at a much later date. (13).
Site monitoring has been carried out. See record for details. (14)
Sources/Archives (14)
- <1> SDR2903 Bibliographic reference: Bateman, T. 1848. Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire. p44.
- <2> SDR7962 Article in serial: 1922. Journal of Roman Studies. Vol. 12, p 249.
- <3> SDR4451 Bibliographic reference: Daniel, G E. 1950. Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of England and Wales. p182.
- <4> SDR11765 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1955. 6".
- <5> SDR7886 Article in serial: Manby, T. 1958. 'Chambered tombs of Derbyshire', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 78, pp 25-39. p34-5.
- <6> SDR4345 Article in serial: Manby, T. 1965. 'The excavation of Green Low chambered tomb', Derbyshire Archaeological Journal. Vol. 85, pp 1-25.
- <7> SDR6130 Personal Observation: F1 BHS 26-APR-66.
- <8> SDR6091 Personal Observation: F1 BHS 14-APR-66.
- <9> SDR8643 Bibliographic reference: Marsden, B. 1977. The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire. p3.
- <10> SDR2466 Unpublished document: Barnatt, J. 1989. The Peak District Barrow Survey (updated 1994). Site 10:12.
- <11> SDR9405 Index: NDAT. 0025. 0025.
- <12> SDR18971 Photograph: Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). Slide Collection. 105.1-14.
- <13> SDR20126 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1993. Scheduling Notification: Green Low chambered tomb. Cat. No.: 198.
- <14> SDR22196 Unpublished document: Marriott, J (PDNPA). 2011. Scheduled Monument Monitoring Form: Green Low chambered tomb.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 2315 5803 (19m by 19m) (Centre) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | ALDWARK, DERBYSHIRE DALES, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (4)
- EDR3173
- EDR537
- EDR538
- EDR1402
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Nov 7 2014 9:39AM