Two bowl barrows on Shiplate Slait

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 two bowl barrows of Shiplate Slait survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes two of a group of three bowl barrows, aligned broadly north-south and situated on Shiplate Slait, a carboniferous limestone plateau in the area above the Somerset Levels. The northern of the two barrows has a mound 8m wide and c.0.6m high; the southern barrow has a mound 7m wide and c.0.5m high. Both mounds are composed of small stones and each is surrounded by a ditch from which this material was quarried during their construction. The ditches have become infilled over the years but survive as buried features c.2m wide. A third mound is situated a short distance to the west but is not included in this scheduling.

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:

22830

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Discovery of Site, Discovery of Site,

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.