The eastern chamber, looking northeast across Chee Dale in early evening sunlight.
This site is
the remains of a circular chambered
cairn that originally had 2 back to back opposing limestone chambers
facing east and west and each probably entered by a passage through a
now vanished mound. The eastern chamber is well preserved and consists
of a pair of upright portal stones about 1.5 metres tall behind which
are a pair of large slabs about 2 metres in length and a smaller backstone
- the covering slab capstone
from the top of the chamber is now gone. Inside, the chamber is about
1 metre wide. The western chamber is in a very poor state, with only the
collapsed portals (one of which appears to be broken) visible, the other
stones have either buried or have been removed. Most of the cairn
mound that would have covered both of these chambers (believed to have
had a diameter of about 15 metres) and a possible outer kerb of stones
is said to have been carried away for wall building about 200 years ago
and the site was subject to the usual enthusiastic but damaging investigations
by several 19th century antiquarians who between them discovered the remains
of about 17 sets of human bones as well as animal teeth, pottery, flint
arrowheads and a flint knife.
As can be seen from the photograph above the site has fine views to the north across the Wye Valley and Chee Dale towards the hills beyond (indeed it is said to be the highest barrow in the Peak District standing at 425 metres above sea level) and this location and the views must have been significant to its Neolithic builders.
As can be seen from the photograph above the site has fine views to the north across the Wye Valley and Chee Dale towards the hills beyond (indeed it is said to be the highest barrow in the Peak District standing at 425 metres above sea level) and this location and the views must have been significant to its Neolithic builders.
Remains of the western chamber on the right with the better preserved eastern chamber to the left.
