Arbor Low is a well-preserved Neolithic henge in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. It lies on a Carboniferous Limestone plateau known as the White Peak area. The monument consists of a stone circle surrounded by earthworks and a ditch.

Description

thumb|Arbor Low Henge

The monument includes about 50 large limestone blocks, quarried from a local site, which form an egg-shaped circle. There were probably 41–43 stones originally, but some are now in fragments.

In the centre of the circle lie at least six smaller blocks known as the cove, originally believed to have been set in a rectangle.

Arbor Low is part of a larger complex, and is linked by an earth ridge to the earlier Neolithic oval barrow of Gib Hill 320m away.

Construction and usage

The bank and ditch of the henge, as well as its two entrances, were probably established in the Late Neolithic period, with the stones added later, sometime before 2000 BCE. The site seems to have been in use until the Bronze Age, when the outer bank was reconstructed so that the round barrow could be erected. Both the earthworks and the stoneworks are probably later than the nearby Gib Hill.

Access

The henge stands on private farmland, and a small fee is charged for access.

See also

  • The Bull Ring

References

Further reading

  • Addy, S.O. (1911). The 'Harbour' and Barrows at Arbour-Lows. Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 33, 39–58.
  • Arnold-Bemrose, H.H. (1904). Geological notes on Arbor Low. Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 26, 78–79.
  • Barnatt, J (1990). The henges, stone circles and ringcairns of the Peak District. Sheffield Archaeological Monographs, Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield. –
  • Bateman, T. (1848). Vestiges of Antiquity. John Russell Smith, London.
  • Cox, Rev. J.C. (1884). Some notes on Arbor Low. Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 6, 97–107.
  • Gray, H. St George. (1903). On the excavation at Arbor Low 1901–2. Archaeologia, 38.
  • Heathcote, J.P. (1956). Arbor Low. Today, the Days of Old, and the Years of Ancient Times. 5th Ed.
  • Matthews, T.A. (1907). Some notes on Arbor Low and other lows in the High Peak. Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 29, 103–112.
  • Matthews, T.A. (1911). Some further notes on the lows in the High Peak. Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 33, 87–94.
  • Pegge, S. (1793). A Disquisition on the Lows or Barrows in the Peak of Derbyshire. Archaeologia, VIII, 131–148.
  • Radley, J. (1968). The origin of Arbor Low henge monument. Derbyshire Archaeological Journal, 88, 100–103.
  • Visitor information (English Heritage)