Five Wells is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

chambered tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

between the villages of

Chelmorton Chelmorton is a village and a civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Derbyshire Dales district and the nearest towns are Buxton to the northwest and Bakewell to the east. The name Chelmorton derives from Old English (a personal name + ...

and

Taddington Taddington is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish, together with neighbouring Blackwell in the Peak and Brushfield parishes, as taken at the 2011 census, was 457. It lies over above sea level, ...

Taddington Moor Taddington Moor is a limestone hill between the villages of Taddington, Flagg and Chelmorton in the Derbyshire Peak District. The moor is an upland farming landscape. The summit at Sough Top is above sea level. Five Wells is a Neolithic chamb ...

in the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

in England. The tomb is a protected

scheduled ancient 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 and d ...

. Three stones mark the main chamber, which has been dramatically reduced; a second less well-preserved chamber is to the west. The burial mound is over in diameter and was first excavated by the local archaeologist

Thomas Bateman Thomas Bateman (8 November 1821 (baptised) – 28 August 1861) was an English antiquary and barrow-digger. Biography Thomas Bateman was born in Rowsley, Derbyshire, England, the son of the amateur archaeologist William Bateman. After the deat ...

in 1846. The chambers have paved floors. Bateman discovered the remains of at least twelve human skeletons. Subsequent excavations (by

Llewellyn Jewitt Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt (or Llewellyn) (24 November 1816 – 5 June 1886) was a British illustrator, engraver, natural scientist and author of ''The Ceramic Art of Great Britain'' (1878). His output was prodigious and covered a l ...

, William Lukis and Micah Salt between 1862 and 1901) found further human remains, pottery and flint tools in the chambers and passages and a separate

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle Ea ...

(stone coffin) within the mound. Access can be made on foot via a permitted path from Pillwell Gate to the west. Access along the permitted path can also be made from the Limestone Way long distance footpath, which runs along Sough Lane to the east.

References

Megalithic monuments in England Stone Age sites in England Archaeological sites in Derbyshire Buildings and structures in Derbyshire Tourist attractions in Derbyshire Scheduled monuments in Derbyshire Tombs in the United Kingdom Derbyshire Dales {{Derbyshire-struct-stub