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Home , Arbor Low, Clifton Antiquarian Club, Five Wells, Peveril Castle, Stanton Moor

Clifton Antiquarian Club Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Clifton Antiquarian Club Young Archaeologists in the Peak District 7th - 10th April 2016 Our 5th annual “Big Trip” convened at – the of the North. The sky was heavy and overcast, but at least the snow from the previous evening had stopped. The , in our view is more impressive than that of Stonehenge, the stones, maybe not so, particularly given that they are all recumbent. Thomas Bateman describes this as “By far the most important, as well as the most uninjured, remain of the religious edifices of our barbarous forefathers that is to be found in the midland counties…” Bateman accompanied us throughout the weekend, not exactly in person, but in the form of his fine volume “Vestiges of the Antiquities of and the Sepulchral Usages of its Inhabitants” published in 1848. Thomas Bateman was an antiquarian and “barrow digger” of some distinction. We wanted to conduct a circularity experiment, to see how round the henge was. With a long tape, George and Hannah set off around the bank whilst the adults held the tape in the central . Whilst the adults made a bit of a pigs’ ear of the project, ending up with a load of tape tangled up around their feet, the Young Archaeologists did a fine job and we came to the conclusion that the henge is egg shaped.

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

As with Stonehenge, Arbor Low is a complex landscape, with a ditch or maybe avenue heading out on, according to Bateman, a serpentine route towards Gib Hill. Gib Hill lies around 300 metres away, a tomb atop of which is a barrow. Close to Gib Hill is an enclosure thought to be Neolithic and easily spotted. The landowner told us that recent geophysics had revealed further evidence of structures in the immediate landscape.

The Team at Gib Hill

Our next stop was Chambered Cairn, the highest Neolithic site in the country. The weather had cleared up by now and we enjoyed a wonderful walk up Five Wells Hill and some fantastic views. The site itself comprises a round cairn with two distinct burial chambers and entrances from opposite ends. When Bateman visited the site in 1848, it had already been cleared but there are records of the lower jaw bones of 12 individuals being recovered.

Niamh and Hannah studying Five Wells

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Our artist for the weekend was Niamh who produced a lovely study in charcoal of one of the chambers.

Nearby the wonderful Packhorse Inn beckoned us in with a reassuring sign on the door telling us the children and muddy boots are welcome. We had half the small pub reserved for our party and enjoyed a great meal of local buffalo burgers and Wild Swan ale. From the pub we had a short drive to our final site of the day – Eyam. Eyam has the dubious honour of being famous for the selfless behaviour of its inhabitants when the plague of 1665 arrived. Rather than running for the hills, they quarantined themselves in the village to face a most unpleasant end. The story is told in the museum where we enjoyed an exclusive film, and at various spots around the village. We stopped at the cottages where the first victim, George Viccars, the tailor whose delivery of cloth from London is thought to have harboured the plague, succumbed to the great pestilence.

Early symptoms set in

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Just along the road is the church of St. Lawrence, burial place of Catherine Mompesson, one of few victims to be buried in the church yard and sporting a fined stained glass window recounting the scene. It was also a little disconcerting to discover that one of the victims was a John Swann, aged 9 years. Also in the church yard and setting a lighter tone is the grave of Harry Bagshaw, a cricketer of some local distinction, his epitaph saying “well played”. The origins of Eyam lie in the Anglo Saxon period, evidenced by the splendid cross in the church yard. After several hours in the village Sophie began to feel poorly and in true heroic Eyam fashion…….. we fled to the hills!

The view from our doorstep

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

These were the hills of , our Youth Hostel lying in the shadow of , a truly spectacular location where we enjoyed aperitifs in the lounge as we reclined by the large window enjoying the view. This was followed by a fine YHA supper washed down with local Jennings beer. We were lucky to have use of Kinder Cottage, a separate building up an enthusiastic set of steps adjacent to a babbling waterfally brook.

Kinder Cottage nestled in the trees

Day 2 took place in and around Castleton. Sophie had made an miraculous and unprecedented recovery from her bout of plague and we all ventured to the lead mining world of the eighteenth century by way of a subterranean boat trip. It was a tough life. In those days our Young Archaeologists by the age of 8, would be working twelve hours a day, six days a week, pickaxe in one hand, shovel in the other and a tallow candle in their mouth.

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Down the mine

Castleton is also home to Peveril , high above the town and reached by a steep and winding path, with commanding views over the town and surrounding landscape. This was the perfect spot for a picnic, a bit of a run around and a little historical discussion; after all, we had gained entry via the splendid Educational Group scheme.

The

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

George and Hannah enjoying a picnic lunch

We learnt that medieval loos are still smelly today, and we discussed the Norman invasion. Looming above in the distance is Mam Tor which reminded us of the story of Brigantia’s head. Or rather, a statue of Brigantia’s head which apparently rolled down the hill and ended up in a front garden. We had heard a rumour that this head could still be seen today and set of in search of it; head hunting. Brigantia was the goddess of the Brigantes tribe of the – we have learnt about them before and particularly of their Queen, Cartimandua. It was very nice therefore to find the aforementioned head in the local museum by the car park. It is thought to have been carved around 1000 BC when the Brigantes would have occupied Mam Tor.

Brigantia and other Goddesses, and George

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Maddie contemplating the landscape atop Mam Tor

And Mam Tor was to be our next stop, a surprisingly easy climb to the top afforded us the best views to date. But an odd hill fort we thought. There are no flat areas (to accommodate our frisbee football tournament) , a single (although Bateman cites the fort as bivallate) ditch was clearly all that was needed given the steep, in some places precipitous slopes. It would not have been a comfortable place to live, but it looks, even today, very imposing and impressive from the surrounding landscape and maybe that was the point. Two Bronze Age barrows are situated in the fort, one c l e a r l y v i s i b l e a n d “ d o u g h n u t e d ” b e f o r e Bateman got to it, by the entrance, the other under the cobbles on the summit.

The entrance of Mam Tor

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

The hills from the back doorstep of our cottage.

Back at the YHA we felt the need to climb another hill and took a lovely relaxing stroll up onto the moors behind the hostel, watching the wildlife and enjoying the views of the valleys and hills. This was perfect to work up an appetite for our visit to the Cheshire Cheese Inn. What a wonderful place, really impressive food, award winning Barnsley bitter, and as with the Packhorse, roaring fires to keep us warm – delicious.

Cosy Derbyshire hospitality

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Day three was moorland day and we headed to Gardom’s Edge just to the east of . We had a mission in mind – to track down some rock art. Our stroll took us through a Neolithic enclosure and up onto Gardom’s Edge itself where we rested and took stock at the “Men of Gardom”. Once a cairn, the stone was rearranged in the eighteenth century to create three cairns representing three shepherds who met their end, having been caught out in the snow on the ridge. Thomas Bateman described the site through readings by Alice and Jaimee from his volume.

At the enclosure

Jaimee on the rocks!

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Alice reading from Bateman at the Men of Gardom

From here we set off into the woods in search of a standing stone and the rock art. The standing stone was easy enough to find and is the subject of some interesting, maybe controversial research. Researchers from Nottingham Trent University propose that there is significant astronomical significance relating to the way in which the stone casts a shadow. It is, to all intents and purposes, a Bronze Age gnomon indicating the season. The weather was excellent and the standing stone certainly cast an impressive shadow.

A prehistoric gnomon?

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

The rock art remained illusive – a quarry for a future visit. It was back to Bakewell for lunch and to stock up on Bakewell Puddings, fudge and sweets from a variety of traditionally styled shops before heading out to Stanton Moor. Stanton Moor is home to the – you would have thought that by now ladies of the Bronze Age would know better than to go out dancing on a Sunday. But here again, we find a group of young ladies forever frozen mid waltz atop a small henge.

George must have told his chicken joke!

This is a lovely spot for some competitive racing around the stones. Hannah opted out, Jaimee picked up a red card and George read Bateman’s description of the site to us and indeed, little has changed. Stanton Moor is a wonderful Bronze Age landscape full of barrows, although most are difficult to spot in the undergrowth. With the weather closing in we headed back to as we had business at the Druid Inn.

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

It is not ritual but structured practice - a prehistoric conga

The Druid Inn was the official meeting place of the Ancient Order of Druids, founded in 1781. O.G.S. Crawford visited the Druid Inn in 1936. He tells us that if you order half a pint of ale the landlady will invite you to visit the Druid Stones just the behind the pub. The current landlady was unaware of this tradition, or indeed of the existence of OGS Crawford. Nevertheless, she was more then happy to serve us fine beer and give directions; out into the car park and into the rain.

Following in O.G.S.’s footsteps

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

The Druid Stones, now known as Rowtor rocks, are an extraordinary labyrinth of steps, tunnels and paths carved into the rock around 300 years ago. But also quite dangerous for little people, with precipitous drops off the side of the cliff and into tunnels below. We didn’t linger and headed back to the hostel for supper, where for once we were not the noisiest group, outdone by a young rugby team.

The Druid Stones, now known as Rowtor Rocks

Our fourth and final day started early for some, well, one, at 4.30 as a most exclusive group of astronomer convened, keen to enjoy the dark skies of the Peak District. Dark and clear they certainly were but for the lights of the hostel. In any event we enjoyed fine views of the Milky Way, Mars and Saturn draped over the hills, and a fantastic view of our favourite double star - Cor Caroli, in the constellation of Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs. After breakfast we packed up and headed off to the hamlet of Gotham and the that would lead us to Minning Low. Again, the weather was fine and we enjoyed a very relaxed walk along the old railway line (a goods line completed in 1831 and a Beeching victim of the 1960’s) to the foot of Minning Low and its distinctive birch trees.

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

The Team with Minning Low in the background

The short climb brought us to the Neolithic cairn, with adjacent Bronze Age barrow. This is the largest Neolithic monument in the Peak District, a whopping 36 metres across and 3 metres high. There are three visible chambers.

Relaxing with Bakewell Puddings, and Twix’s

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

It was Sophie and Hannah’s turn to recite Bateman and there were two particularly interesting facts - a burial in the Bronze Age barrow, but outside the , and the presence of Roman coins in the Neolithic chambers. This piqued our interest and we spent some time discussing this. If the coins were placed in the chamber when they (the coins) were in circulation, then this would have been a practice taking place over an period of about 100 years, maybe even 150 judging by the dates of each Roman ruler: Claudius Gothicus, Constantine the Great, Constantine Junior and Valentinian. Little has been written about the presence of Roman coins in prehistoric monuments although it appears to have been quite common. Where it has been commented on, it seems to be in the context of coins dropped whilst looting of the chamber. Romans were apparently rather prone to decorate their villas with ancient artefacts. We prefer the idea that the coins were some sort of offering, deliberately placed in the chamber, perhaps in the same way that people, even to this day, cannot resist throwing a coin in a watery place; itself a practice that goes back to at least the Iron Age and probably the Bronze Age. Maybe a Roman family, enjoying a picnic just as we were, helping themselves to a few ancient relics, felt just a little bit guilty and the need to placate a god or two – maybe Brigantia herself. Or perhaps they felt they should replace the stolen artefact with something of material value. On the other hand, maybe the coins found their way into the chamber well after the Roman period – some might recall our excavation in North several years ago where, allegedly, Roman coins were planted almost 2000 years after they were minted!

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016

Our Bateman readings also noted that at a number of his Bronze Age barrow diggings, including that at Minning Low, skeletons were found in the mound but outside the cist, usually extended as opposed to crouched. The Anglo Saxons had a habit of reusing Bronze Age barrows to bury their own dead and in some cases it has been suggested that criminals were buried in this way. Maybe what Bateman found was an Anglo Saxon outlaw.

The Bronze Age barrow at Minning Low

The point of all this is that prehistoric sites have held social, political and probably ritual (structured practice) significance throughout the historic period. What our ancestors thought of them is a fascinating subject and one we shall return to. This was quite a lot to ponder and with our Young Archaeologists’ brains full of ideas and stomachs full of Bakewell Pudding, there was just time for a huge game of hide and seek before enjoying a sunny stroll back to the cars. It was a lovely conclusion to what was a great trip. We were very lucky with the weather and as always, the company and participation of the Young Archaeologists was marvellous. What is very clear is that we seem to be getting our heads around chronology and the style of monument we expect to find within each of our periods. Thank you to everybody who joined us and of course our Young Archaeologists, who on this trip seemed to have had a revitalised appetite for and history; Niamh George, Alice Murphy, Jaimee, Sam and Sophie Ellwood and Hannah and George Swann. Thanks also must go to our inspiration for the trip, that distinguished barrow opener and fount of knowledge for all things druidical, Thomas Bateman.

Clifton Antiquarian Club Peak District Young Archaeologists 7th - 10th April 2016