Two bowl barrows north-west of Waterend Farm

Summary

Two bowl barrows located approximately 1.3km and 1.4km north-west of Waterend Farm, centred at TL8474196030, most likely of Bronze Age date.

Reasons for Designation

The two bowl barrows north-west of Waterend Farm, most likely of Bronze Age origin, are scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: as well preserved earthwork monuments representing the diversity of burial practices, beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities;

* Potential: for the stratified archaeological deposits which retain considerable potential to provide invaluable evidence not only for the individuals buried within but also evidence for the ideology, variation in burial practices and social organisation
of the communities and social networks that were using the landscape in this way;

* Group value: for its close proximity to other related and contemporary scheduled monuments such as the bowl barrows on Slave's Hill (NHLE 1431697) and Mound Plantation (NHLE 1003950).

History

The treatment, burial and commemoration of the dead have been a distinctive part of human life for millennia, and these activities have often left physical remains. The remains of the dead have been dealt with in remarkably varied ways in the past and it appears that, in the prehistoric period especially, only a small proportion of the population received a burial which has left traces detectable using current methods. Round barrows are distinctive burial monuments which can represent both individual burials as well as larger burial groups. They are one of the main sources of information about life in this period.

The main period of round barrow construction occurred in the Early Bronze Age between about 2200-1500 BC (a period when cremation succeeded inhumation as the primary burial rite), although Neolithic examples are known from as early as 3000 BC. In general round barrows comprise a rounded earthen mound or stone cairn, the earthen examples usually having a surrounding ditch and occasionally an outer bank. They range greatly in size from just 5m in diameter to as much as 40m, with the mounds ranging from slight rises to as much as 4m in height. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Round barrows are the most numerous of the various prehistoric funerary monuments.

The most common form of round barrow is referred to as a bowl barrow. These are inverted pudding-bowl shaped mounds with slopes of varying profile, sometimes with a surrounding ditch and occasionally an outer bank.

The two bowl barrows located approximately 1.3km and 1.4km north-west of Waterend Farm are understood to be Bronze Age in origin. The north-eastern barrow, known as Dead Man’s Hill, was excavated in 1901, and a contracted inhumation was found at ‘great depth’. A band of charred earth and ash approximately 15cm wide formed a complete circle about 61cm from the skeleton. An old horse shoe with calkins and bones of domestic animals were found above the burial and in 2002 knapped flint flakes were recovered from a rabbit scrape on the barrow. Some sources make reference to a cremation burial but details are limited. The barrow was first scheduled in 1924, and a six-pointed Ministry of Defence (MoD) star was erected on the monument in the late C20, identifying it as a scheduled monument. The mound is depicted on the 1884 and 1905 Ordnance Survey (OS) maps, and was labelled as ‘Tumulus’ on the 1952 OS map.

The south-western barrow has not been excavated. The mound was first recorded by R R Clarke in 1935, and depicted on the 1952 OS map, labelled as ‘Tumulus’. The mound was first scheduled in 1970, and a six-pointed (MoD) star was erected on the monument in the late C20, identifying it as a scheduled monument.

The barrows were previously recorded as two separate monuments: NHLE 1004033 (formerly NF35) and NHLE 1003915 (formerly NF323).

Details

Two bowl barrows located approximately 1.3km and 1.4km north-west of Waterend Farm, most likely of Bronze Age date.

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The north-eastern barrow, also known as Dead Man’s Hill, survives as a clearly defined circular mound in the centre of a field. It measures approximately 45m in diameter and 1.3m in height with no evidence of a ditch. The surface of the mound is flattened with a slightly undulating surface, most likely a result of excavations carried out in 1901. The barrow is covered in grass, with clusters of gorse on the north-western edge. A six-pointed Ministry of Defence (MoD) star is positioned on a post at the centre of the mound, and marks the site as a scheduled monument. The mound is bounded by timber posts arranged in a square, measuring approximately 47m across.

The second barrow lies approximately 110m south-west of Man Hill at the south-west end of the field. It measures approximately 40m in diameter and 0.5m in height with no evidence of a ditch. The height of the barrow appears to have been reduced and spread by past ploughing. It is grass covered, with clusters of heather and gorse encroaching from all sides. A six-pointed MoD star is positioned on a post at the centre of the mound, and marks the site as a scheduled monument.

AREA OF SCHEDULING
The scheduled areas includes a 2m buffer zone around the circumference of each of the barrows.

EXCLUSIONS
The MoD star-shaped signs are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these is included.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

NF 35

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Norfolk: Volume I, (1901), 275
Clarke, W G, In Breckland Wilds, (1925), 118
Lawson, A J, Martin, E, Priddy, D, Taylor, A, The Barrows of East Anglia, (1981)
Clarke, W G, Norfolk Barrows in Antiquary, (1913), 418

Websites
Aerial Photographs 1946 and 1988, accessed 13th March 2016 from http://www.historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/mapexplorer/

Other
Norfolk Historic Environment Record - 5027
Norfolk Historic Environment Record - 5026

End of official list entry

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