Monument record 1597 - Round cairn on Reed Hill

<1> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 30/184-194 Andrew W J 1912 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

Round barrow situated on the apex of a natural mound known as Reed Hill or Reed's Piece, Sponds Hill. Surveyed & excavated in 1911 by W J Andrew. The barrow was 45ft N-S x 51ft E-W & 4-5ft high. The floor of the barrow was prepared in saucer form with a retaining bank of soil around its outer edges & its sides were encased with a wall composed entirely of stone. The mound itself was composed of closely packed pebbles & covered in a turf layer 2-3 ins thick. The primary cist was built of gritstone in the form of a beehive, 2.5ft in diam x 2ft wide. Within a rough parallelogram of stones sunk into the mud floor was a mass of cremated human bones. A secondary burial was contained within a stone cist, 18ft from the E side of the mound. This cist was 3ft in diameter, and as the capstone was missing and the cist empty, it seems that the barrow was explored previously.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ97NE12/1964 (Index). SCH2487.

In 1964 barrow described as 14m diameter x 0.8m high, hollow on top.

<3> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/84 Longley D 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<4> Barnatt J, 1989, Peak District Barrow Survey, 22:6 (Unpublished Report). SCH2591.

1988 survey recorded bowl barrow 15.5m x 14.0m x 0.8m high from south and 1.2m downslope from north. Situated on ridge top, on crest of prominent N-S ridge. Top has two pits with associated upcast. Two other shallow features may represent the remains of Andrew's 1911 backfilled trenches. Minor livestock erosion on south half of crest, around a trough. Survey at 1:200.

<5> English Heritage, Various, Schedule Entry (Scheduled Ancient Monuments Amendment), 23609 (Scheduling Record). SCH2950.

The monument is a round cairn located on the summit of Reed Hill. It includes a slightly oval-shaped mound of partly turf-covered stones up to 1.4m high with maximum dimensions of 16m by 15m. Limited early 20th century excavation of the cairn located the primary central gritstone cist containing a mass of cremated human bones. A secondary cist was located but found to have been previously emptied.

<6> Peak District National Park Archaeology Service, Various, Scheduled Ancient Monument Monitoring Form (Unpublished Document). SCH4989.

Four visits were made to the site of the round cairn between 21/05/2005 and 21/06/2014 as part of a programme of scheduled monument monitoring undertaken by the Peak District National Park. The site is located in grassland grazed by sheep. The visit of 21/05/2005 observed broken pieces of a large, white, earthenware sink mixed with stone debris on the cairn. The second site visit, 28/06/2008, recorded erosion of the cairn by sheep and weather. The two subsequent site visits recorded no further change.