Four bowl barrows divided by the B3174, forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Farway Hill

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1010277
Date first listed:: 16-Jan-1951

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1010277
Date first listed:: 16-Jan-1951
Date of most recent amendment:: 31-Jan-1995

Location

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

County:: Devon
District:: East Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Farway
National Grid Reference:: SY 16096 95404

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The Farway Hill barrows, a number of which form the barrow cemetery, comprise the central section of the most extensive and densest concentration of barrows in Devon. Their association with Farway Castle adds additional depth to this relict ritual landscape. Limited archaeological excavations of some of the barrows have revealed that they have a remarkable diversity in size and form, and in the nature of their funerary contents. These four barrows form an integral part of the barrow cemetery. Two of the barrows survive in good condition, and although the other two have been partially disturbed by road construction, and one by partial excavation, a significant proportion of their buried features remain intact, including the old land surface which will contain evidence of the past environment.

Details

The Farway Hill barrows are situated in south east Devon on the high ground of an extensive Greensand plateau in an area some 8km south of Honiton where it forms the watershed of the River Sid. These funerary monuments are grouped around Farway Castle, a substantial circular earthwork enclosure which is believed to be contemporary. The monument includes four of ten bowl barrows which together make up the Farway Hill round barrow cemetery. They are aligned north/south and are situated on the crest of a ridge to the immediate south east of Farway Castle. The B3174 road runs between the middle two barrows in this group. A forestry track runs between the two northern barrows. At the southern end is a bowl barrow 15m in diameter and 0.9m in height, with an even rounded profile. On the south side of the road is a bowl barrow with an original diameter of about 15m and height of 0.8m. A track leads from the road into the woodland to the immediate west of this barrow. On the north side of the road is a bowl barrow with an original diameter of about 15m and height of 1m. There is an intrusion in the north west sector of the mound, possibly representing an antiquarian excavation. At the northern end is a bowl barrow 18m in diameter and 1m in height, with an even rounded profile. There is no evidence of a ditch at any of the four barrows. Excluded from the scheduling are the made up road surface and all fence posts, but the ground beneath them is included.

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:: 24963
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Hutchinson, , 'Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association' in Report on Barrows near Sidmouth, (1880)
Hutchinson, , 'Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association' in Report on Barrows near Sidmouth, (1880)
Simpson, S, Noble, S, 'Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report' in Archaeological Survey & Management Study of Areas of E Devon, , Vol. 93.38, (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.