Bowl barrow at Otford Mount

Overview

Location

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.

The bowl barrow at Otford Mount survives well and contains both archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a ridge facing south-west in an area of undulating chalk downland. The barrow has a mound 20m in diameter and 1m high surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. Having become partially infilled over the years, the ditch is now only visible as a slight depression to the south-west of the mound; the remainder survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The barrow was recorded as 'Stumleburgh' in a land grant of 1289.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 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:

23017

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
TQ 55 NW 5, (1964)

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.