Mosley Height Cairn, Causewayside Farm, Cliviger: excavations in 2010 and a re-evaluation of the collections in Towneley Hall Museum

Abstract

Excavations on the former site of the Mosley Height cairn have allowed the reinterpretation of the published excavation report and a more detailed and integrated study of the material culture from the site. Radiocarbon dating indicates that cremation burial took place between the early 18th and late 16th centuries cal BC. Artefacts from the site include Mesolithic, Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age lithics and parts of three collared urns. Cremated human bone from the site survives from three separate deposits and represents a minimum of three individuals. Activity on the site is likely to have begun in the Late Neolithic, with the main cairn and burial phase belonging to the Early Bronze Age. Comparison with other Early Bronze Age funerary monuments in the region demonstrates that the monument was deliberately sited on the west facing edge of the Burnley moors in an area of previous occupation.