Doll Tor
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Doll Tor is a
stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...
just west of
Stanton Moor Stanton Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Stanton-in-Peak. It is known for its megaliths – particularly the Nine ...
, near the village of
Birchover Birchover is a village and civil parish in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England, five miles north-west of Matlock. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 362. Eagle Tor is a small hamlet on the north western edge of the ...
,
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
in the English
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
. Doll Tor is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
during the
Late Neolithic In the Near Eastern archaeology, archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding th ...
and
Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
s, over a period between 3300 and 900
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...
. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
entities for the circles' builders. With a diameter of , Doll Tor consists of six upright main stones arranged in a circle. Drystone walling consisting of smaller, flat stones was packed between these
orthostat This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...
s. A stone cairn had been added to the east of the circle, perhaps in a second phase of construction. Excavation has revealed that the cremated human remains of several adults and children were buried both within the circle and around the cairn. These remains were often though not always placed in ceramic urns, and were sometimes deposited alongside other material such as flint tools, small pieces of bronze, and
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
beads. The
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
Thomas Bateman Thomas Bateman may refer to: *Thomas Bateman (antiquary) (1821–1861), English antiquary *Thomas Bateman (physician) (1778–1821), British physician and dermatology pioneer *Tom Bateman (politician) (1922–2003), Australian politician *Tom Batema ...
excavated at the site in 1852, and J. P. Heathcote conducted a second excavation between 1931 and 1933. By the early 21st century, the site was being used for ritual activity by modern Pagans. Unknown persons damaged the site in 1993 and 2020 by moving various stones around; they were subsequently returned to their original locations.


Location

Doll Tor stands on the western flank of
Stanton Moor Stanton Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Stanton-in-Peak. It is known for its megaliths – particularly the Nine ...
, half a mile north of the village of
Birchover Birchover is a village and civil parish in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England, five miles north-west of Matlock. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 362. Eagle Tor is a small hamlet on the north western edge of the ...
in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
. It is near a range of other prehistoric remains, including features associated with both agricultural and ritual activity. The archaeologist
Aubrey Burl Harry Aubrey Woodruff Burl (24 September 1926 – 8 April 2020) was a British archaeologist best known for his studies into megalithic monuments and the nature of prehistoric rituals associated with them. Before retirement, he was Principal Le ...
described the area of Stanton Moor as "a prehistoric necropolis of cairns, ring-cairns, standing stones and stone circles". Doll Tor is for instance south-west of the Andle Stone and overlooks the Harthill Moor Stone Circle. In 2005, Burl noted that the site was comparatively easy to visit, although as of 2020 it was not open to the public. The stone circle is a
Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
under the
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (c. 46) or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England and Wales, and Scotlan ...
.


Context

While the transition from the Early Neolithic to the Late Neolithic in the fourth and third millennia BCE saw much economic and technological continuity, there was a considerable change in the style of monuments erected, particularly in what is now southern and eastern England. By 3000 BCE, the
long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...
s,
causewayed enclosure A causewayed enclosure is a type of large prehistoric Earthworks (Archaeology), earthwork common to the early Neolithic in Europe. It is an enclosure (archaeology), enclosure marked out by ditches and banks, with a number of causeways crossing ...
s, and
cursus Cursuses are monumental Neolithic enclosure structures comprising parallel banks with external ditches or trenches. Found only in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, relics within them indicate that they were built between 3400 and 3000 BC ...
es that had predominated in the Early Neolithic were no longer built, and had been replaced by circular monuments of various kinds. These include earthen
henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...
s,
timber circles In archaeology, timber circles are rings of upright wooden posts, built mainly by ancient peoples in the British Isles and North America. They survive only as gapped rings of post-holes, with no evidence they formed walls, making them distinct fr ...
, and stone circles. Stone circles exist in most areas of Britain where stone is available, with the exception of the island's south-eastern corner. They are most densely concentrated in south-western Britain and on the north-eastern horn of Scotland, near
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
. The tradition of their construction may have lasted 2,400 years, from 3300 to 900 BCE, the major phase of building taking place between 3000 and 1300 BCE. These stone circles typically show very little evidence of human visitation during the period immediately following their creation. The historian
Ronald Hutton Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an Indian-born English historian specialising in early modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion, and modern paganism. A professor at the University of Bristol, Hutton has writte ...
noted that this suggests that they were not sites used for rituals that left archaeologically visible evidence, but may have been deliberately left as "silent and empty monuments". The archaeologist
Mike Parker Pearson Michael Parker Pearson, (born 26 June 1957) is an English archaeologist specialising in the study of the Neolithic British Isles, Madagascar and the archaeology of death and burial. A professor at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, he prev ...
argues that in Neolithic Britain, stone was associated with the dead, and wood with the living. Other archaeologists have proposed that the stone might not represent ancestors, but rather other supernatural entities, such as deities. Across eastern Britain—including the East Midlands—stone circles are far less common than in the west of the island, possibly because of the general scarcity of naturally occurring stone here. There is much evidence for timber circles and earthen henges in the east, suggesting that these might have been more common than their stone counterparts. In the area of modern Derbyshire, there are five or six known stone circles although the remains of many ring-cairns, a different style of prehistoric monument, are also common and can look much like the stone rings. Stylistically, those found in this county are similar to those found in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. Within the Peak District, nine was frequently favoured as the number of stones used in a circle. The only large stone circles in the Peak are
Arbor Low 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. ...
and
The Bull Ring The Bull Ring is a Class II henge that was built in the Late Neolithic period near Dove Holes in Derbyshire, England. It has coordinates (), and is National Monument number 23282. There are also two barrows about 20m away from the henge; o ...
, both monuments which combine a stone circle with an earthen henge and which are located on the sandstone layers. There are also a few smaller stone circles, such as Doll Tor and the Nine Stones Close, that are close to the limestone edge.


Design, construction, and use

The date of Doll Tor's construction remains unknown, although archaeologists have referred to it as Bronze Age. At least two phases of construction have been identified. The first phase involved the creation of the stone circle itself, built from six rocks set upright as orthostats. The circle measured in diameter. The western side of the circle was made from stones that were slightly taller and heavier than those used on the other sides; this could have given the impression of the circle sloping upwards from east to west, while the ground itself sloped downward in this direction. The orthostats have been erected atop a stony platform that was perhaps created during the original construction process so as to level the ground. There was no evidence of a bank having been carved out around the perimeter of the circle, as is seen at some other sites of this type. At an unknown point in time, drystone walling was added to the circle, used to connect the six standing orthostats; this largely comprised flat stones. The second phase of construction saw stones being used to build up a cairn directly adjacent to the eastern side of the circle. This mound was sub-rectangular in shape. At the eastern end of this cairn was a large flat stone, perhaps once having covered an interment, although no evidence of the latter was recovered during excavation. This structure has been compared to the ring-cairn affixed to the stone circle at Gortcorbies in
County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...
, Northern Ireland.


Human remains

Archaeological excavation of Doll Tor has found evidence for the burial of several humans at the site. The ceramic vessels associated with these burials have been described as Late Bronze Age. This use of stone circles for burials has been noted at other locations across the Midlands and Northeast England; Burl suggests that these examples reflect "the conversion of an ancient sanctuary into a later sepulchre". Excavation during the 1850s revealed the presence of three or four collared urns, of the Pennine type, along with incense cups, in the centre of the circle. Subsequent excavation in the early 1930s revealed a burnt flint knife in the centre of the circle and fragments of "a thick plain urn" inside the southeast edge of the circle. The 1930s excavations also revealed an area of charcoal mixed with pieces of ceramic decorated with long straight lines and the bones of a child. This was also inside the southeastern part of the circle. On the eastern side of Doll Tor was found a large deposit of cremated material which osteological analysis suggested were the remains of an adult male; no ceramic material was found with it. At the southwestern side of the circle, further charcoal was found close to the orthostat, interpreted as the remains of a cremation in which the human bone had been utterly incinerated. At the base of the orthostat on the west of the circle was found a roughly made urn, in height, with "very few bones" accompanying it. Excavation during the 1930s also revealed at least six interments of human remains around the cairn to the east of the stone circle. In the centre of the cairn, a large stone slab had been placed above the cremated remains of a cremated adult, interpreted at the time as being a woman. With the bones was a segmented faience bead with a dark red base colour. At the southern side of the cairn was a deposit containing a small urn in height, which was found inverted at the time of recovery, as well as a few "very small" pieces of bronze, three unburnt flint scrapers, and "very few bones". At the south-eastern part of the cairn were recovered a flint scraper and two urns on their side, one measuring in height and the other . The human remains associated with this interment were determined to be those of a child. At the north of the cairn was a pit containing the remains of an adult human, believed to be probably male. A red faience star bead was found with the bones. At that time, it was suggested that this bead was ultimately of Egyptian origin. At the northeast of the cairn were the remains of a child along with fragments of a large urn; these were positioned beneath a large flat stone.


Excavation and vandalism


Thomas Bateman and the Heathcotes

On 10 April 1852, the
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
Thomas Bateman Thomas Bateman may refer to: *Thomas Bateman (antiquary) (1821–1861), English antiquary *Thomas Bateman (physician) (1778–1821), British physician and dermatology pioneer *Tom Bateman (politician) (1922–2003), Australian politician *Tom Batema ...
visited Stanton Moor in the company of two others, Mr Carrington and Mr Glover. They came upon Doll Tor and there found several small ceramic sherds and calcinated bones which had been unearthed by burrowing rabbits. The trio used their pen knives to dig into the soil and found that there was more material beneath the surface. They then borrowed a spade and hack from a nearby farm, using these to dig into the centre of the circle, revealing the broken remains of either three of four cinerary urns and what they interpreted as "incense cups." In his 1861 book ''Ten Years Diggings in Celtic and Saxon Grave-Hills in the Counties of Derby, Stafford and York'', Bateman subsequently produced the first written record of the stone circle's existence. Several of the urn fragments which he discovered were later reassembled at the
Weston Park Museum Weston Park Museum is a museum in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is one mile west of Sheffield city centre within Weston Park. It is Sheffield's largest museum and is housed in a Grade II* listed building and managed by Museums Sheff ...
in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. By 1931, Doll Tor had become overgrown, with grass and heather concealing all but the tops of four of the stones. Between 1931 and 1933, two men, J. P. Heathcote and J. C. Heathcote, carried out excavations at the site. They noticed that the centre of the circle contained a depression, which they interpreted as meaning that Bateman had not back-filled the area he had excavated in 1852. The Heathcotes began their investigation in this centre, cutting a trench extending both north and south of it. They discovered the cairn to the east of the circle, believing that it had not previously been disturbed by Bateman's excavation. The duo also recovered cremated human remains, which they showed to Miss M. L. Tildesley of the
Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...
, as well as several beads, which they had analysed by Mr. H. C. Beck. By the late 1930s, the finds were still in the possession of J. P. Heathcote at his Birchover home, although by the early 21st century were in the care of the Weston Park Museum. In the midst of the Heathcotes' investigation, three of the orthostats were smashed apart by persons unknown. Two of them were broken into at least a dozen pieces each. The Heathcotes subsequently ensured that these broken stones were cemented back together. Although much of Doll Tor had been concealed below the surface when they had discovered it, the duo decided not to restore it to this appearance. Rather, they scattered much of the sand and loose stones that had covered the monument elsewhere. This left Doll Tor in a position where the stone features would be visible to visitors.


Late 20th and 21st centuries

Doll Tor has attracted the interest of modern Pagans who have used it to perform rituals. In their 2007 study of modern Pagan uses of British archaeological sites, the scholars Robert Wallis and Jenny Blain noted that Doll Tor was "clearly a ritual centre for one or more groups today". They noted that these visitors sometimes placed offerings such as flowers and fir cones at Doll Tor, although they added that this site did not attract as much of this behaviour as another Derbyshire stone circle, the
Nine Ladies The Nine Ladies is a stone circle located on Stanton Moor in Derbyshire in the English East Midlands. The Nine Ladies is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the La ...
. In 2018, the ''
Derbyshire Times The ''Derbyshire Times'' is a weekly local newspaper published in northern Derbyshire, each edition being on sale from Thursday. Its headquarters are in Chesterfield and much of its coverage centres on the town and the surrounding area. The news ...
'' noted that offerings could regularly be found tied to trees around the site. In the spring of 1993, unknown persons altered the stone circle, increasing the number of orthostats from six to fourteen. They removed the circle kerb and much of the eastern cairn and moved the stones from there to create a bank covering three sides of the cairn's central setting. Several boulders had also been set upright to create a roughly circular feature to the southern side of the main ring. It is believed that those responsible then performed rituals at the site. Burl blamed these changes on "New Age delusions of the power of imaginary fertility rites at the time of the Spring equinox". This illegal act was reported to the Peak National Park Archaeology Service. Financed by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
, a project was launched to restore Doll Tor to its previous appearance, bringing together professional archaeologists, students, and rangers from the
Peak National Park The Peak District is an upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivided into ...
service. In 1994 two small trenches were dug, designed to identify the stoneholes of the two western orthostats, allowing the latter to be re-erected in their original location. These excavators found evidence of a "stony platform" inside the circle, which they deemed an artificial prehistoric layer; that it was intact in places led them to believe that there were parts of the site which had not been excavated by either Bateman or Heathcote. Although two of the orthostats had been lying prone since at least the mid-19th century, having fallen from their original standing position, the restoration project decided to re-erect these. The restorers found that when it came to the kerb and the cairn they could not determine precisely which stone had been located where and had to approximate based on the general size and shape of the stones. On completing the restoration, the archaeologist John Barnatt noted that "the monument now is closer to its prehistoric appearance than at any other time in historic times. This will hopefully negate future attempts at ill-informed 'rebuilding' at the site." In early June 2020 further damage was discovered, several stones having been moved and a number of fires lit.
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
described the act as a "heritage crime". Claims on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
reported that other prehistoric sites around Britain had also been vandalised at this period, as the country was easing out of the first COVID-19 lockdown.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * *


External links


Doll Tor
at
The Modern Antiquarian ''The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain'' is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as a travelogue of British megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Types of art ...

Doll Tor
at The Megalithic Portal {{coord, 53.162497, -1.645007, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Peak District Stone circles in Derbyshire Archaeological sites in Derbyshire Scheduled monuments in Derbyshire