Pole Hill 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.

Although a wartime trench has been dug into Pole Hill bowl barrow, the greater part of the monument survives well and will retain important archaeological information. Evidence concerning the construction of the barrow, the manner and duration of its use, and also the local environment, at and prior to the time of its construction, will be contained in the mound and in the soils preserved beneath it. The barrow is one of a large group recorded in the parishes of Martlesham, Brightwell and Foxhall, including a small cemetery consisting of six barrows of varied type which lay between 300m and 500m to the north east and which were excavated in 1953. Together, these will provide evidence of the nature and extent of Bronze Age activities in the area.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

21271

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Gilyard Beer, R, Devil's Ring, Brightwell Heath, (1984), 247-278

Other
FXL 004,

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