Torrisholme bowl barrow

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008912
Date first listed:: 15-Jan-1970

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008912
Date first listed:: 15-Jan-1970
Date of most recent amendment:: 21-Sep-1994

Location

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

County:: Lancashire
District:: Lancaster (District Authority)
Parish:: Morecambe
National Grid Reference:: SD 45968 64251

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.

Despite some disturbance to the monument by a field boundary on its eastern side and an Ordnance Survey triangulation station on its summit, Torrisholme bowl barrow survives reasonably well. It is not known to have been excavated and will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath.

Details

The monument includes Torrisholme bowl barrow located on the summit of a small hill north east of Torrisholme village. It includes a flat topped circular mound of earth and small stones measuring 32m in diameter and up to 2.3m high on the steeply sloping east side, where it incorporates the remains of an old field boundary, and 1.4m high on the north side. Also included within the scheduling is an Ordnance Survey triangulation station located upon the barrow's summit.

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:: 23715
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows, (1989)
SMR No. 429, Lancs SMR, Torrisholme Barrow, (1993)
To Lancs SMR, Geary, E, Torrisholme Barrow, (1953)
To Robinson,K.D. (MPPFW), Capstick, B. (FMW), (1993)

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.