Two round barrows SW of Well House Cottage

Summary

Two bowl barrows 570m south-west of Wellhouse.

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period. Despite early partial excavation, reduction in the height of the mounds through cultivation and some animal burrowing the two bowl barrows 570m south west of Wellhouse survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, relative chronologies, territorial significance, social organisation, ritual and funerary practices and overall landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 3 February 2016. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument, which falls into two separate areas, includes two bowl barrows situated on the upper south facing slopes of a prominent ridge forming the watershed between the valleys of the River Piddle or Trent and the Devil’s Brook. The barrows survive as oval and circular mounds surrounded by buried quarry ditches from which the construction material was derived. The northern mound measures 14m in diameter and 0.3m high and the southern oval mound is up to 19m long, 16m wide and 1.8m high. It has an excavation hollow extending from the centre to the south west. Further archaeological remains survive in the vicinity but these are not included in the scheduling because they have not been formally assessed.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

DO 519

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 454727 and 454732

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