Register of ancient monuments
Reference number 1018236
Millers Grave On Midgley Moor
Hollin Lane
Midgley
Sowerby Bridge
Calderdale
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT
The monument includes a large cairn known as Millers Grave, situated on the summit of Midgley Moor. The cairn has a diameter of about 15.5m and survives to a height of approximately 1.5m. It is built of medium-sized stones piled around a glacial boulder which has a deep cleft. Stones have been removed from the centre of the cairn to reveal this boulder; this has created a hollow. Some of the stone has recently been piled around this hollow to make a shelter. With the exception of these recently piled stones, the rocks which make up the cairn are well embedded and overgrown with heather.
ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE
Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering a single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthern round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
