Details

Bassett Wood bowl barrow is a well preserved sub-circular earthen barrow
situated in the southern fringes of the Derbyshire Peak District. The
monument includes a mound measuring 29m by 25m by c.1m high, and the
surrounding construction ditch which is c.3m wide and buried under accumulated
soil and debris. During a partial excavation carried out by Thomas Bateman in
1845, a grave-pit was found covered by a limestone floor strewn with charcoal.
Inside the grave were the remains of a cremation burial indicating a Bronze
Age date for the barrow.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 3 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

Although partially disturbed by excavation, Bassett Wood bowl barrow is a
well preserved example containing further significant archaeological remains.
Unusually for the Peak District this barrow is known to be surrounded by a
ditch.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849)
Marsden, B M, The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire , (1977)

Source: Historic England