| Abstract: |
This paper reports on the excavation of two adjacent Peak District barrows with very different histories. Barrow 1 exhibited several phases of use in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, and was reused in later prehistory and the Romano-British period. The earliest human remains, which date to the 4th millennium cal BC, comprise some crushed bone on the land surface beneath the barrow mound. The form of the site in the Neolithic is unclear but it is possible that a low ring-cairn pre-dates the mound into which it was incorporated and belongs to the initial mortuary phase. Also pre-dating the main barrow mound is a cist grave containing disturbed remains of two individuals and fragments of a Beaker pot. The grave fill contained large quantities of small mammal bones, probably deriving from owl pellets. Subsequently, following the deposition of a Food Vessel cremation, the main barrow mound was constructed. Barrow 2, which had been partly excavated in the 19th century by Thomas Bateman, had a less complex sequence and fewer finds, though there were human remains broadly contemporary with those in the Barrow 1 cist grave. Assemblages of struck flint, prehistoric and Romano-British pottery, human and animal remains, charred plant remains and molluscs were recovered from both monuments and provide information on the nature of human activity in different periods and the formation processes that have operated. The final discussion reflects on the implications of the barrows for our understanding of past prehistoric mortuary practice and the human occupation of the White Peak. |
