The Central Archaeology Service, fieldwork projects

Margery Hill, South Yorkshire

The second season of work was undertaken in the autumn of 1994, on the site of a prehistoric cairn eroding out from under the blanket peat in the vicinity of Margery Hill, the highest point of the Dark Peak area west of the Derwent Valley. The objectives of this season's work were to complete and develop the topographical survey of 1993-94, and to undertake auger transects across the monument.

The auger sampling confirms that the potential for environmental analysis is very good, and that the structural and environmental development of the site can be dated by a combination of radiometric and dendrochronological methods. The combination of the topographic and auger surveys indicates that the monument is considerably larger than anticipated. With the exception of the areas of the cairn that are eroding out of the peat, the overall state of preservation of the remainder of the monument appears to be good.