Round barrow 250m east of Wold Farm, Bishop Wilton Wold

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 monument survives reasonably well. Despite the 19th century excavation and the regular ploughing, it will retain significant archaeological information relating to the manner and duration of its usage.

Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age round barrow situated on Bishop Wilton Wold, one of a group of barrows on this area of the Wolds. The barrow mound is a visible feature in the landscape, standing to a height of 1.3m, and positioned on a natural rise. The mound has been ploughed and this has resulted in its present ovoid shape. It measures 60m north-south, and 48m east-west although originally it would have been fully circular. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was excavated during the construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. This has become in-filled over the years but survives as a buried feature about 3m wide. The mound was excavated by J R Mortimer in July 1871 when two inhumations and three cremations were found along with worked flints and pot fragments.

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:

21095

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Clarke, D L, The Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland, (1970), 507
Mortimer, J R , Forty Years Researches in British and Saxon Burial Mounds of East Yorkshire, (1905), 147-148

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.