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Shaw Cairn, Mellor Moor: Report on the Excavations, 1976-1988

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Shaw Cairn, Mellor Moor: Report on the Excavations, 1976-1988 Shaw Cairn, Mellor Moor: Report on the excavations, 1976-1988 The Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL December 2000 1 Shaw Cairn, Mellor Moor: Report on the excavations, 1 1976-1988 'I By Victoria Mellor, under the direction of Norman Redhead Based on the work of: John Clarke (deceased) Ruth collier (deceased) Kath Lowe With contributions from: Andrew Myers '1 Fred Broadhurst Ruth Collier (deceased) Cover: original illustration of Food Vessel [53] Contents: Page o Table of contents ..................................................................... o List of plates and tables ............................................................. o Non-technical summary ............................................................ o Introduction ........................................................................... o Discussion of the site archive and associated problems ...................... 1975 contour survey. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..:.. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .-. .. - Copy of 1975 contour survey report - Rcworking of data from 1975 contoursurvey - Discussion o Excavation methodology ................... .......... ............................... - Problems associaled with the excavation mcth~~dology - The site grid - Excavators and periods of excavation - Extent of ihc excavations - Account of lhc reasoning for the posilioning of ircnchcs in each ycar - Ovcrvicw of physical rncth~ldscrnployed o 1976 trial excavation... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .'. - Copy of .1976 trialexcava~ionreport o Site descrrpt~on... .................................................................... - Si~cgcol~~gy. including 1979 gc<>logiqlrcporl by Frcd Brmadhurst - Soils - Cairn c11nslructir1n - Internal fcatures - Arcas of disturb;~ncc - Soil infill - Tops~~iland vegetation layers - Other contexts o Contexts ................................................................................. - Number allocation Finds ..................................................................................... - Thc human remains - Associations between cremations and finds - The pottery - Thc lithics - repon by A.M. Myers - Charcoallother finds - Other. finds o Site visrt .......................... ..................................................... o Discussion and interpretation. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ...... o Recommendations .................................................................... Archive and depos~tron. ............................................................. o Acknowledgements .................................................................. o Biblrography. ........................................................................... o Appendices ............................................................................. - Appendix a: the paper archive - Appendix b: the photographic record - Appendix c: finds noted within the paper archive - ~p~endixd: Non-lithic finds from Shaw Cairn - Appendix e: Lithic finds from Shaw Cairn List of plates Pla~eno. Description Page Exc:~a!i<,nsat [he sitc: 19/5/78 - c. NiOluokin~ north > 8 Ibl Locn!ion of the site drawn by N. Rcclhuad 6 Acrial photograph of the site 8 Comparison heiwcen !he phocogrilphic and drawn rcconl using fcacurc 1141 I? Original 19i5 contour sur\,cy plan. 1:2500 showing localion of surrcy arm I6 Original 1975 conrour sur\,cy plan. 1:250. sht,winp survcy arc> (S: l'lih trench?) li Original 1975con1our survcy plan. I:l00. showing survey rcsullr I8 Reworking of original suwcy daltl: Microsoft Exccl ]plot .. IY jD reworking of originill survey darn: Microc<>itExccl p1<11 20 Posilion ofihe site grid 23 Pl;m of lola1 cslenl ai uc;$v;~tic,nsat lhc silc 2i Original illustration accampilnying l9i6 trial ehcavalion rcporl 3 1 Kcrh 1121 in unknown p;in ofsiic 38 Kerb [I21 in AGIH 15-li. looking soulh 38 Kerb 1121 in AGIH 213. luoking soulll j9 Kcrb 1121 prcsumcd io he >ha! in UZY/lO. facing sclulh 3') Stone infill oi cairn. Ilil lac>kingnanh. prcsum;$hly irclrnc, A014 4 I SIO~IU iniill of cairn, lljl lnl,Ling nonh ircim .APX. lhccli<>n,if Lcrh in iorgn~un~ll?)i 41 Plan ofsilc shc,u,ing nlajor ic~wrcsand cc~nlc\!numhcr allr>calion 42 Sl,owing fcatorc 1141, iacin: root11 4i Fca!c~ic1141 f;scing north 44 Fc:llunc 1141 lacing nurch 14 Cis! 1151. facing c;lrt 45 Cis! 1151. facing \vest 45 Cis, 1151, iktcir~gnt>rrh 16 Crclniliion 131 I. ilis~:c~\.crc.dhcne;t!h hilscclfciri 1151 46 Discurbc<Icis, ILtll. itrcing sc>u!h \r,chl 4i Dislurbcd CLS~12111. P~cingsouth 48 Dlslorbd cis, 12111. iacing south msi 48 Fc~turz121 I. AOIZ. lacins north wcsl? Feature 121 I: Derail (rum silt plan showing rcla~innshipbulu.ucn tw, slonc slahs 40 Presumably part of kerb 1121 c. ,AP9-ANh, fcirluru 1241 in bilckgrnuod? - 2. :\PYilO 511 Pink sunds~anualignment l2il ('1. AM13/14. facing wesl? 5 1 Pink snndlonc alignmcni 1271 (?I. AM13iANI I. faciny vilsl? 5 1 Frarures 1281 & W. facing nonh wcsl 52 Fcilturcs Ul 8 1501. facing south wcs! 53 'Sail s~onc'c.lumenroi I281 in,m sc,uth cast 5.3 'Sail sconc'clemrnt of 1281. fnrm west 53 Fcarure 1281 c. AG.516. facing north 5-1 Original sketch plan sho\*,ing ilddiiional stone alignmcn~s1561. l5il S: 1581 56 Original sketch plan showing additional rtonc nli~nmencr(561. 15il S: 1581. Also 1621 57 Additional stone alignmeno 1561 8 15il. AMl6llim lacing west 58 Additional smne alignment 1561. facing west 58 Plan showing rrprcsen~ationaldistribution of finds by lypc 64 Cremation [361 6i Cremation 13il 6i Cremation 1371 6i Cremarion [331 68 Crema~ion[331 08 Cremation (351 68 Cremation 1191 af~erercsvation.shown in hox on trcnch cdgc 69 Original illustrarion of selec~ionof pottery from cwma~ian1341 82 Original illustrarion of Food Vusscl 1531 Titlc pa~c& 83 Showing Food Vessel 1531 84 Showing Fuod Vessel 1531 84 Showing Food Vessel 1531 85 Copy of illustration of Tissington Food Vessel for comparison 85 Illustrariun showing prehistoric and cairnlbarrow sites in the area - dr~wnby N. R~.dhcarl 109 List of tables Duscription ofc'ontex~swith numhur allocation Associatic,nr lhclwern funerary deposits, finds and slruclurus The photographic record Finds ooccd within the pilpcr;!rcbive -- G~ilph~l-6 Associations hefwecn funerary rlupnsits. finds and stn~cturcr ii NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY Excavation at Shaw Cairn (SJ 9870 8725, GMAU SMR no. 421.1.0), located on Cobden Edge, in Stockport Metropolitan Borough, was carried out after identification of the site as a possible cairn by J. Bu'Lock, and a contour survey in 1975 produced inconclusive results. The site was excavated between 1976 and 1988, although no report of the work was produced in this period. The site archive was passed to Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit on its recent re-discovery, following the death of one of the core excavation team. Analysis of the archive was conducted as part of the work placement year of an Archaeology degree at the University of Bradford. The site itself is a stone-built funerary cairn of the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, enclosed by a stone kerb c. 15m in diameter. 12-15 cremation burials were discovered, some of which were within stone cists or settings. Some of these cremations included finds of pottery and flint, although some of the flintwork seems to have been accidental inclusions of earlier artefacts. Of particular note are the finds of a particularly finely-worked plano-convex knife in association with a cremation, and an almost complete Early Bronze Age Food Vessel. A number of possible pyre sites have been identified at the site. A limited quantity of the lithics from the site are datable to the Earlier Mesolithic, and it is likely that pre-cairn Late NeolithicEarly Bronze Age activity is represented, as well as some evidence of various phases in the construction of the cairn. The site provides a useful addition to previous studies of Peak District barrows, and its position at the interface between the Bronze Age cultures of the Peak District limestone and the Millstone Grit of the lowland Mersey Basin make it of particular interest. The identification of other possible cairn sites close by, the ditchibank feature of unknown date, which surrounds the site, and the ongoing hillfort excavation c. 1.6 km to the north (GMAU SMR no. 1317.3.0). at Mellor, highlight the importance of the area as a complex prehistoric landscape. This landscape will be the subject of a proposed Mellor Hinterland Survey, allowing Shaw Cairn to be placed within this wider context. Further work at the site itself is recommended, including the analysis of the pottery and cremated bone from the site, and further exploratory excavation. Topographical and geophysical survey should be undertaken. In 1975, a contour survey was carried out. bya small group of local enthusiasts, of a number of Bronze Age and other prehistoric sites in the Pennines, which included Shaw Cairn. Mellor Moor (reproduced here, p. 15). The site was brought to the attention of the group by John Bu'Lock. who identified it as a possible cairn. After the initial survey work failed to confirm the site as a cairn site, a trial excavation was carried out, in 1976 (reproduced here. p. 28). The main excavators at the site were John Clarke, Ruth Collier, and Kath Lowe. The team apparently worked under the auspices of the Extra Mural Department of Manchester University, although the extent to which this institution was involved in the project is unclear. Work continued at the site in every year until 1988, despite the death of John Clarke in
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