Our Barrows
How do we know these are barrows
? Who found out all this information
? Was anything found in the barrows
? Where can I read more about Standlow and the Prehistory of the Peak District ? FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS A barrow is a
term ARCHAEOLOGISTS generally use to describe a feature in the
landscape that has been made or enlarged by the action of people, usually for
the purpose of burial of the dead. They are relatively simple in
form. Barrows of the
type found here are called ROUND BARROWS and they were built by
people during the BRONZE AGE around 4000 years ago. People at
the time had discovered how to use the metal BRONZE
and had been farming for some years. It is probable that they FARMED
href="http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session3/51/farming_in_the_bronze_age.htm">http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session3/51/farming_in_the_bronze_age.htm
the slopes around Newhouse farm, but would also still hunt their food and gather
things to eat from wild plants. They would not eat the kinds of food we eat now.
There would be no pizza and chips, because tomatoes and potatoes had not been
discovered yet. Grain to make BREAD was one of the first plants
farmed. SHEEP had also been introduced from other countries,
and could have been used for meat, milk and wool, although they were quite
different from the sheep you can see now at Newhouse. To see what a Bronze age
landscape may have looked like click
here.
http://www.templeresearch.eclipse.co.uk/bronze/trewortha_farm.htm
It is hard to be
sure exactly what barrows were for. Some show traced of BODIES
, some bodies were buried whole others had been cremated first. Others have
traces of goods from the Bronze Age. Archaeologists call these
ARTEFACTS. These help to tell us when the barrows were built.
We can also tell dates by scientific tests such as CARBON DATING
http://www.howstuffworks.com/carbon-14.htm
where finds included some carbon based item. Barrows of this kind are usually
found on places that can be seen from the surrounding landscape. This may mean
on the highest point or it may have just be on a high and prominent position.
This has led some archaeologists to suggest that barrows and other burials were
used to mark our land boundaries, as an unusually high proportion of burials
fall on old or even current boundaries. Not all people of the Bronze Age were
buried in barrows. It is likely then that these burials and barrows were
important for some special reason. Learn more: http://www.angelfire.com/me/ij/britishBA.html xxx How do we know these are barrows
? There are two
possible barrows at Stand Low. The largest is believed to be a true barrow. It
has been studied by several archaeologists who specialise in barrows in the Peak
District and who have suggested that it is a man made barrow built on a natural
knoll. The second smaller barrow is likely to be a natural knoll, rather than a
Bronze age barrow. Was anything found in the barrows
? As far as we know
there were no bodies or cremations found in the Stand Low barrows. They are
believed to have contained several artefacts, when they were dug in 1869. Some
of these are currently in the British Museum, others were lost over the years.
The artefacts were an URN or food vessel, a unique ivory
handled bronze DAGGER, a stone AXE and an
amber RING. Who found out all this information
? Because
archaeological investigation is very expensive and techniques change, we rarely
find out all the details of a site. It seems likely that the large barrow was
first dug in 1869 by J F Lucas. Lucas found some artefacts that help to date the
barrow. John Barnett the Archaeologist for the Peak District visited Stand Low
in 1988 and was confident that the largest barrow was indeed a barrow. Other
archaeologists who have visited the site include Martin Wildgoose and Nicolas
Boldrini. Boldrini conducted a detailed measurement survey of the site. Other
than this, there has been little detailed work on the barrow. The site is
registered with English Heritage SMR, and this protects it from being dug
without permission. At this time, therefore, no further excavations have been
undertaken. The word barrow
in this sense can be traced to before the 12th Century. It has its
roots in the Middle English bergh, which is derived from the Old
English beorg, which is associated with the Old High German
berg, meaning mountain. Sankskrit also gives the associated word
brhant meaning high. From these words we can see barrow is associated
with high places. Until recently barrows were called TUMULI
(singular TUMULUS) and this can still be seen on Ordnance
Survey maps, marking barrows. In the Peak District many barrows have the place
name LOW associated with them, as in STAND LOW. Low is thought
to derive from the Old English hlaw meaning mound or small
hill. Stand is probably
derived from the Old English stan meaning stone, rock or
cave. Where can I read
more about Standlow and the Prehistory of the Peak District
? 
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