The Bullstones bowl barrow

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. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. 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 and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite limited antiquarian investigation of the mound and the absence of any surface remains of the entrance corridor and flanking quadrants recorded by antiquarian investigators, The Bullstones bowl barrow survives reasonably well. This investigation located human remains, pottery and flint artefacts, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. Additionally the monument is a rare example in Cheshire of a bowl barrow possessing external architectural features.

Details

The monument is The Bullstones bowl barrow located on a gently sloping hillside a little to the east of the summit of Brown Hill. It includes a low flat earth and stone mound up to 0.25m high with maximum dimensions of 11.5m by 10m. At the centre of the mound is an upstanding gritstone slab 1.3m long by 1.1m high. The barrow is surrounded on all sides except the east by a kerbing of irregularly spaced small water-worn and erratic boulders. Limited antiquarian investigation located the cremated remains of a child or young person buried approximately 0.9m below the ground surface and beneath an inverted urn. Amongst the ashes was a calcined flint knife and a flint arrowhead. The excavator also recorded a short corridor of stones leading to a break in the kerbing which he interpreted as an entrance. From the outer extremities of this entrance, on either side, lines of stones curved outwards and backwards to the mound, forming a pair of quadrants of sufficient dimensions to accommodate four or five people standing upright.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 7 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

22584

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Sainter, J D, Scientific Rambles Around Macclesfield, (1878), 35-6

Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No. 1522, Cheshire SMR, The Bullstones, (1989)
Ref. No. SJ96NE1, Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Card, (1964)
To SMR, Wilson, D, (1986)

End of official list entry

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