Sites in Derbyshire

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Images

Image of Derbyshire by juamei

Found presumably at one of the quarries near/at King Sterndale. Its a late Bronze age bronze socketed spearhead. Currently in Buxton museum.

Image of Derbyshire by juamei

Late Bronze age bronze socketed axe found during work at Silverlands, Buxton. Currently in Buxton museum.

Image of Derbyshire by juamei

Late bronze age socketed knife found somewhere in Harpur Hill, Buxton. Currently in Buxton museum.

Image of Derbyshire by thesweetcheat

Not megalithic, but megalith referencing. Sundial at Chatsworth showing distances to various Peak District circles.

Image credit: A. Brookes (16.9.2011)
Image of Derbyshire by Bruvs

Glossop site? Above Horse Clough: could these slabs be the remains of a megalithic site...? Any input appreciated.

Image credit: Paul Brotherton
Image of Derbyshire by fitzcoraldo

William Parker, Bateman’s father-in-law.
He accompanied bateman on many of his excavations.

Image of Derbyshire by stubob

10/02. Large stone copy of a Bronze Age collared urn, on the tomb of Thomeas Bateman.

Articles

Stone Circle sundial at Chatsworth

Old news (2010) but as there can’t be many sundials or sculptures that namecheck stone circles, worth noting.

A NEW sundial sculpture showing the distance to 42 stone circles and earthworks in Derbyshire has been unveiled at Chatsworth in time for this year’s summer solstice.

Timepiece was designed specifically for Chatsworth’s world-famous, 105 acre garden by the artist Gary Breeze and is said to unite ancient and modern ways of telling the time.

thestar.co.uk/news/just_like_old_times_as_chatsworth_s_sundial_sculpture_arrives_1_857754

Rare Amber Necklace Found

From an article published on the BBC News web site on 1st December 2008:

A rare amber necklace believed to be about 4,000 years old has been uncovered in Greater Manchester.

Archaeologists made the find while excavating a cist – a type of stone-lined grave – in Mellor, Stockport.

It is the first time a necklace of this kind from the early Bronze Age has been found in north-west England.

Experts from the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit said a amber necklace was one of the ultimate status symbols of the period.

The necklace consists of dozens of pierced amber beads of various sizes, linked together on a length of fibre.

It was discovered in the cist by experts from the university and local Mellor Archaeological Trust, who said the mystery was now how the material got to the north west.

Read the full article...

Peak Landscape Tour with Helen Caffrey 15th July

From the recently released Manchester Uni Continuing Ed. guide:

With Helen Caffrey – A walk by the Limestone Way to investigate the cluster of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and later sites in the Peak landscape. We shall see:
Nine Stones Close
Iron Age enclosed settlements
The Hermitage

Fee £25.00, call 0161 275 3275 for details

Sunday 15th July 2007 from 2pm – 4:30pm

manchester.ac.uk/continuingeducation (this is the URL for the guide, but I could not find the details for it as yet)

Mellor Flint Dagger On Display 4/5th September

A perfectly-preserved 4,000-year-old flint dagger unearthed at the dig in Mellor, Stockport, is being hailed as one of the most significant finds of its type in the region. The hidden site was spotted during the long, dry summer of 1995, when local historian Anne Hearle noticed that a strip of grass next to her vegetable patch stayed green when all else had gone brown. The patch was later found to be part of a ditch in an Iron Age fort. Digs have progressed since 1998 via volunteers, Lottery and Stockport Council money, and have shown that the area has been occupied for 10,000 years.

The 12cm long flint dagger was dug from the mud by Peter Noble. Manchester University archaeologist John Roberts said: “This dagger is an astonishing piece. I have worked on sites all over the country for 18 years and I have never seen anything so beautiful. It gave me goose-bumps on the back of my neck when it was found. Daggers like this have been found in the region before, but they are very rare, especially in this condition. Everyone is thrilled to bits.” It’s thought the dagger may have been included in a burial chamber on the site.

The dagger and other artefacts discovered in the Mellor archaeological dig will be on display at an open day at the site on September 4 and 5.

more at Manchester Online
where there is a picture of the dagger.

Roman and Stoneage Artefacts Found Near Pub

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of a Roman fort and a Stone Age settlement near a pub in Chesterfield.
Experts were called in when developers discovered the artefacts on land underneath the Old Feather’s Pub on Lordsmill Street.

Some of the pottery dates back to the 1st Century AD.

Maria Barnes from Chesterfield Museum said the discovery indicates the town’s Roman settlement was larger than previously thought.

“Most of the evidence of Roman settlement is the centre of Chesterfield and this gives us proof that the civilian settlement around the fort extends further south than we previously thought,” she said.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3891829.stm

Bronze Age cremation site unearthed in Derby

The remains of people who lived in Derby (England) 3,500 years ago have been found on the site of a derelict hotel in Littleover. Archaeologists say the Bronze Age cremation site, containing burial urns dating back to 1500 BCE, is the oldest historical exhibit found intact in Derby. A major highway used by Roman armies from 70AD was also discovered, along with the boundaries of what is thought to be an Iron Age field.

The finds were made as excavation work was carried out on the Pastures Hill side of the former Forte Post House hotel, which closed in 2001. The work was being carried out by archaeology experts ahead of a proposed housing development. Dr Andrew Myers, Derbyshire County Council’s development control archaeologist, said during the dig the team found a Bronze Age cremation cemetery. On excavating one of the six cremations, they found burnt human bones inside a burial urn. “It’s the earliest intact archaeology that has been excavated in the whole of Derby,” said Dr Myers. “There were also several pit-like finds in a row. They were identified as Iron Age, and may be part of field boundaries dating back to 500 BCE.

Joan D’Arcy, of Derbyshire Archaeological Society, said: “We had no idea that there was any Bronze Age or Iron Age occupation in that area.” When the discovered items have been investigated they will be displayed at Derby Museum and Art Gallery in the Strand.

stonepages.com/news/archives/000585.html

Quarries Threaten Ancient English Monuments

Revised proposals have been submitted to the Peak District National Park Authority for the reopening of the controversial quarries at Stanton Lees near Matlock (England). Stancliffe Stone Ltd is seeking to commence work at the quarries, which have been dormant for several decades.

The National Park Authority has previously stated that it does not want the quarries to be reopened due to their proximity to Stanton Lees and the scheduled ancient monuments on Stanton Moor. However, the Authority will now examine the company’s proposals and a consultation process will get underway.

John Bull, Chair of the Authority’s Planning Control Committee, said: “This is a very sensitive site and the proposal to reopen the quarries will be controversial. After several years of uncertainty we hope to move ahead and bring the matter to a conclusion by next April. However, people need to be aware that it is not within our power to refuse permission for the quarries to re-open – the site already has permission. The Authority’s role will be to approve a set of modified conditions for working the site in an appropriate way.”

Interested parties will have around two months to lodge their comments, which should be made in writing to the Planning Service, Peak District National Park Authority, Aldern House, Baslow Road, Bakewell DE45 1AE.

Source: The Megalithic Portal (21 December 2003)

Log Boat Unearthed

A second prehistoric log boat has been unearthed in a Derbyshire quarry less than a mile from where a similar find was discovered five years ago.

Archaeologists found the 3,500-year-old log boat, which dates back to the Bronze Age, at Shardlow Quarry, Shardlow, in an area that used to be river channel into the Trent.

The boat lay 1km away from the area where a similar boat, now on display at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, the Strand, was found in 1998.

University of Birmingham archaeologists made the discovery in September while carrying out a study on behalf of the quarry’s owners, Hanson Aggregates, but news of the find has just been revealed.
More here at ‘This is Derbyshire‘

Prehistoric skull unearthed in England

A Quarry worker could have discovered proof of prehistoric life close to the River Trent (England). Part of a skull was found at a working gravel pit off Pasture Lane, Long Eaton, by a worker from RMC Aggregates (Eastern). Initial tests date it back to the prehistoric age.
After finding the skull, worried workers phoned the police and the site was closed, as officers began a search and investigation. But the investigation took on more of a historical angle when tests indicated the skull was thousands of years old. DS Rohan Catlow, based at Long Eaton, said: “We had experts come to the site and they believe it is a human skull from the prehistoric age, or maybe a primate, such as an ape.” The skull was taken to Long Eaton police station, where experts are due to examine it in more detail.

stonepages.com/news/#341 Source: Evening Post (25 September 2003)

Derbyshire

SK194633 – Bateman’s Tomb

Not really an antiquity as such, but Thomas Bateman dug over 200 barrows in the Peak District, sometimes up to 6 a day. He wrote two books on his works, ‘Vestiges of the Antiquities of Debyshire’ in 1848, followed in 1861 with ‘Ten Years Digging....’.

Some of his finds are displayed in the Sheffield and Buxton museums.

Inside the chapel the tomb lays behind, there used to be a carved marble memorial to Thomas Bateman....it is Now in Sheffield Museum. A strange thing to do with the grave and chapel still there.....I can imagine Batemans wry grin at the thought of it..

Miscellaneous

Derbyshire

The Peak District is named not after the hills but after the tribe “Pecsaetans” who lived in the area, the name roughly means ‘Hill dwellers’.

Link

Derbyshire
Peak District Prehistory

This is a new facebook group purely to discuss Peak District Prehistory. Its to show off sites we’ve been to, help for sites we can’t find and to organise meet ups! If you live nearby or regularly visit the region, feel free to join...

Link

Derbyshire
I dig Sheffield

Information on excavations and sites in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.
Lots photo’s, watercolours and info on Peak District sites. Good sections on Arbor Low and Gib Hill, Stanton Moor and various barrows.