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.
Details
The monument includes a Bronze Age round barrow on Painsthorpe Wold, one of a
number of similar monuments in this area. The barrow mound is 1.75m in height
and has a diameter of 20m. Although no longer visible at ground level, a
ditch, from which material was excavated during the construction of the
monument, surrounds the mound. This has become in-filled over the years but
survives as a buried feature 3m in width. The barrow was partially excavated
by J R Mortimer in 1877. He found that the mound had been disturbed some
eleven years earlier when the farmer buried three cattle in the mound. Despite
the 1866 disturbance, Mortimer found an Anglo-Saxon burial in the mound and a
much earlier primary inhumation in a grave cut into the chalk of the wold.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21099
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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 Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
