Bowl barrow 900m south west of Bristol Plain Farm: part of a group of round barrows south and south west of Bristol Plain Farm

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008784
Date first listed:: 19-Dec-1929

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008784
Date first listed:: 19-Dec-1929
Date of most recent amendment:: 19-Sep-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Rodney Stoke
National Grid Reference:: ST 49593 51435

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 900m south west of Bristol Plain Farm survives comparatively well despite the gradual spreading of the mound by cultivation. There are no records of any excavations at the site and the barrow will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This bowl barrow forms part of a wider group of round barrows which are known to occur in the area.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a gently sloping south-facing carboniferous limestone outcrop, 900m south west of Bristol Plain Farm, in an area of the Mendip Hills. The barrow has a mound composed of small stones. It has a maximum diameter of 21m and a maximum height of c.0.3m. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature c.2m wide. The monument is surrounded by other slight earthworks which are likely to represent natural outcrops of limestone and the remains of historic quarrying.

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:: 22915
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society' in Somerset Barrows, , Vol. 115, (1971), 114
Tratman, E K, 'Proc of University of Bristol Speleoloical Soc' in Proc of University of Bristol Speleoloical Soc, , Vol. 3, (1927), 284

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.