Bowl barrow at Knocking Knoll, 640m E of Pegsdon Common Farm

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 barrow at Knocking Knoll lies within proximity of another large barrow at Tingley Field Plantation. Although partly excavated, this barrow retains considerable potential for the survival of archaeological evidence within the mound.

Details

The barrow is a mound about 30m in diameter and almost 3m high. The mound is hemispherical in shape except on its east side where it is slightly truncated by the field boundary. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The barrow is located at the crest of a ridge of the Chilterns and within 1km of the Icknield Way. A number of barrows were documented in the area by the 18th century antiquarian, William Stukeley and in 1856 the barrow was partially excavated by William Ransom of Hitchin. Pottery from the site is held in the Hitchin Museum. A second round barrow is located 600m to the south, in Tingley Field Plantation.

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:

20419

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Stukeley, W, Itinerarium Curiosum, I, (1724)
Ashbee, P, The Earthern Long Barrow in Britain, (1970)
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough, (1968)
Dyer, J, B.A.J. in Field system survey of Knocking Hoe National Nature Reserve, Vol. 2, (1964)

Other
White, R.J., Beds. SMR 414, references 15 and 17, (1978)

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