Arbor Low
Neolithic henge in Derbyshire, England
title: "Arbor Low" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["archaeological-sites-in-derbyshire", "english-heritage-sites-in-derbyshire", "history-of-derbyshire", "peak-district", "stone-circles-in-derbyshire", "tourist-attractions-in-derbyshire", "scheduled-monuments-in-derbyshire", "henges-in-england"] description: "Neolithic henge in Derbyshire, England" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Low" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Neolithic henge in Derbyshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ancient site"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Arbor Low |
| image | Arbor low 274167 560a8cc3.jpg |
| alt | grassy area with a raised circular area with stones lying in a roughly circular pattern |
| location | near Middleton-by-Youlgreave and Bakewell |
| region | Derbyshire, England |
| coordinates | |
| type | Henge monument |
| 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 |
| :: |
|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 |region = Derbyshire, England |coordinates = |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. 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
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Arbor_Low_8.jpg" caption="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. They range in size from 1.6 to, with monoliths of between 2.6 and. One stone is partially upright; the rest are lying flat. 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.
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.
The stones are surrounded by an earth bank, approximately 90 by at the outside edges and 2 m high, with an interior ditch about 2 metres deep and 7 to wide. There are two causeway entrances breaching both the bank and ditch; a north-west entrance 9 m wide, and a south-east entrance 6 m wide. The inner bank encloses an area of 52 by.
Few henge monuments in the British Isles are as well preserved.
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.
Surrounding landscape
A large Bronze Age round cairn or 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 now in the care of Weston Park Museum.
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.
Statutory protection
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/VR_heritage_marker_at_Arbor_Low_henge,_Derbyshire.jpg" caption="Victorian]] area of statutory protection"] ::
Arbor Low was one of the first ancient monuments to be given statutory protection, on 18 August 1882. 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).
Access
The henge stands on private farmland, and a small fee is charged for access.
References
References
- "The Megalithic Portal and Megalithic Map: Arbor Low 1 Stone Circle".
- {{NHLE. (15 April 1994)
- {{PastScape
- (29 June 2012). "Arbor Low Earthwork". www.megalithic.co.uk.
- "History of Arbor Low Henge and Stone Circle and Gib Hill Barrow". English Heritage.
- (January 2024). "Our year in pictures". Peak District National Park/Derbyshire County Council.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::