Round barrow N of Boswell's Plantation

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1003063

Date first listed: 03-Jan-1961

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

National Grid Reference: SY 74526 91492

Summary

Bowl barrow 150m north west of Boswells 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.

The bowl barrow 150m north west of Boswells Farm survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, territorial significance, social organisation, funerary and ritual practices and overall landscape context.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 28 January 2016. The 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.

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated just above the floodplain to the north of the River Frome. The barrow survives as a circular mound measuring 36m in diameter and 1.3m high surrounded by a largely buried quarry ditch of up to 3.5m wide from which the construction material was derived, the ditch is partially visible to the north and is 0.3m deep. The barrow is bisected by a field boundary.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number: DO 494

Legacy System: RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-455030

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.