Three barrows N of Penn Hill

Summary

Three bowl barrows 735m south east of Higher Muckleford Farm.

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 significant reduction in the heights of the mounds through cultivation the three bowl barrows 735m south east of Higher Muckleford Farm will retain 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 12 January 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 three areas, includes three bowl barrows situated on the upper west facing slopes of a spur to the north west of Penn Hill overlooking the River Frome. The barrows survive as circular mounds surrounded by buried quarry ditches from which the construction material was derived. The mounds vary in size from 16m up to 29m in diameter and from 0.2m up to 0.3m high. They form an outlying group to a nearby round barrow cemetery which is the subject of a separate scheduling.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

DO 354

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-453791

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