View source for Arbor Low

{{Short description|Neolithic henge in Derbyshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Arbor Low
  |native_name = 
  |alternate_name = 
  |image = Arbor low 274167 560a8cc3.jpg
  |caption = 
  |alt = grassy area with a raised circular area with stones lying in a roughly circular pattern
  |location = near [[Middleton-by-Youlgreave]] and [[Bakewell]]<ref name="megalithic_portal">{{cite web | url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=0003 | title=The Megalithic Portal and Megalithic Map: Arbor Low 1 Stone Circle |website=The Megalithic Portal| access-date=3 January 2008}}</ref>
  |region = [[Derbyshire]], England
  |coordinates = {{coord|53|10|08|N|01|45|42|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
  |type = [[Henge monument]]
  |material = 
  |epochs = 
  |public_access = 
  |condition = 
| designation1            = Scheduled Monument
| designation1_offname    =  Arbor Low henge, large irregular stone circle, linear bank and bowl barrow
| designation1_number     = 1011087
| designation1_date       =  18 August 1882
}}

'''Arbor Low''' is a well-preserved [[Neolithic]] [[henge]] in the [[Derbyshire]] [[Peak District]], England.<ref name="HistoricEngland">{{NHLE |num=1011087 |desc=Arbor Low henge, large irregular stone circle, linear bank and bowl barrow |date=15 April 1994 |access-date=2 September 2019}}</ref> It lies on a [[Carboniferous Limestone]] plateau known as the [[White Peak]] area. The monument consists of a [[stone circle]] surrounded by [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]] and a ditch.

== Description ==
[[File:Arbor Low 8.jpg|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.<ref name="HistoricEngland"/> They range in size from {{convert|1.6|to|2.1|m}}, with [[monolith]]s of between {{convert|2.6|and|2.9|m}}.<ref name="HistoricEngland"/> One stone is partially upright; the rest are lying flat.<ref name="megalithic_portal" /> Although it is often stated that the stones have never stood upright, it is possible that they had originally been set upright in shallow stone holes.<ref name="pastscape">{{PastScape|mnumber=308656 |mname=Arbor Low|access-date= 24 September 2012}}</ref>

In the centre of the circle lie at least six smaller blocks known as the [[Cove (standing stones)|cove]], originally believed to have been set in a rectangle.<ref name="HistoricEngland" />

The stones are surrounded by an earth bank, approximately {{convert|90|by|85|m}} at the outside edges and {{convert|2|m}} high, with an interior ditch about 2 metres deep and {{convert|7|to|10|m}} wide. There are two [[causeway]] entrances breaching both the bank and ditch; a north-west entrance {{convert|9|m}} wide, and a south-east entrance {{convert|6|m}} wide. The inner bank encloses an area of {{convert|52|by|40|m}}.<ref name="HistoricEngland" />

Few henge monuments in the British Isles are as well preserved.<ref name="HistoricEngland"/>



== Finds ==
Human skeletal remains were discovered close to the cove during excavations between 1901 and 1902. Other finds have included flint scrapers, arrowheads, and bone and antler tools.<ref name="HistoricEngland"/>

== Surrounding landscape ==
A large [[Bronze Age]] round [[cairn]] or [[Tumulus|barrow]] was built later, to the east of the henge, using material taken from the earth bank. It was excavated in 1845 and found to contain a cremation burial, flint and bone artefacts, and two pots similar to Late Neolithic Peterborough ware<ref name="HistoricEngland"/> now in the care of [[Weston Park Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=1734 |publisher=www.megalithic.co.uk |title=Arbor Low Earthwork |date=29 June 2012 |website=The Megalithic Portal |access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name="eh">{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/arbor-low-stone-circle-and-gib-hill-barrow/history/ |title=History of Arbor Low Henge and Stone Circle and Gib Hill Barrow |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="megalithic_portal" />

== Statutory protection ==
[[File:VR heritage marker at Arbor Low henge, Derbyshire.jpg|thumb|175px|One of the VR markers, indicating the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] area of statutory protection]]

Arbor Low was one of the first ancient monuments to be given [[Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882|statutory protection]], on 18 August 1882.<ref name="HistoricEngland"/>  Small stone markers engraved VR and GR (for ''Victoria Regina'' and ''Georgius Rex'') still stand around the henge, demarcating the protected area. One of the VR stones, having been damaged, has been replaced by one bearing CR (for ''Charles Rex'' – meaning Charles III).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://issuu.com/peakdistrict/docs/revfinalnov24acidmagazine2024issue21?e=33076593/97995423 |journal=ACID: Archaeology and Conservation in Derbyshire and the Peak District |title=Our year in pictures |issue=21 |date=January 2024 |publisher=Peak District National Park/Derbyshire County Council |page=35 |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

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

== See also ==
* [[The Bull Ring]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|1}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | title=Arbor Low: A Guide to the Monuments | publisher=Peak Park Joint Planning Bd. |date=May 1996 | isbn=0-907543-74-X}}
*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. – {{ISBN|978-0906090343}}
*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. {{Doi|10.5284/1066325}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Arbor Low}}
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/arbor-low-stone-circle-and-gib-hill-barrow/ Visitor information (English Heritage)]

{{European Standing Stones}}
{{Derbyshire Places of interest}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:History of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Peak District]]
[[Category:Stone circles in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Henges in England]]