Howe 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 the barrow mound has suffered some disturbance as a result of tree growth and excavations, this is of limited extent and the monument will retain significant information on its original form and the burials placed within it. Unusually in Humberside, this barrow has not been either excavated or investigated by antiquarians.

Details

The monument includes Howe Hill bowl barrow. It is situated on a prominent natural knoll, its position making it quite a dominant feature in the surrounding flat landscape. The barrow mound is constructed from chalk rubble and earth and now has a sub-rectangular shape due to plough action, having dimensions of 11m north to south and 17m east to west, although it would originally have been circular. Its maximum height is approximately 2m. The eastern end of the barrow shows limited evidence of disturbance and has one or two visible shallow surface pits. 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 infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature about 2m wide.

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:

21051

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Phillips, C W, Archaeological Journal in Archaeological Journal XCL 1934, Vol. XCL, (1934), 187

End of official list entry

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