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 reduction in the heights of the mounds through cultivation, the three bowl barrows 600m east of Small Hill Barton 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.
Details
The monument, which falls into three areas of protection, includes three bowl barrows, situated on a ridge, overlooking the sources of several tributaries to the River Ottery. The barrows survive as circular mounds, surrounded by buried quarry ditches, from which the construction material was derived.
The southern mound measures 21.5m in diameter and 0.4m high with its ditch discernible as a crop mark. The central mound measures 36.7m in diameter and 1m high, and the northern mound is 34.5m in diameter and 1.3m high.
Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-434694, 434691 and 434679
