Bowl barrow 220m WSW of Starved Oak Cross

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.

This bowl barrow has survived without any known previous disturbance and presents one of the best-preserved visible profiles among the Upton Pyne barrow group, whose unusual low-lying position, good overall preservation, and quality of dating, constructional and artefactual information have all resulted in its frequent mention in national reviews of Bronze Age funerary monuments.

Details

The monument is a bowl barrow surviving as an earthen mound, 32m in diameter and 1m high, in an arable field. There is no visible or recorded evidence that it has ever been excavated, though several flint artefacts have been recovered from its surface during survey. The barrow is the easternmost of a line of four well-spaced barrows on a low broad ridge overlooking a shallow trough at the centre of the area covered by the Upton Pyne barrow group. This group comprises over thirty recorded barrows dispersed about a low-lying alluvial basin north of the confluences of the River Exe with the Rivers Culm and Creedy. Within the overall group, barrows occur both as isolated examples and forming localised clusters. Grave goods and a radiocarbon date derived from the few partly-excavated barrows in the group indicate burials during the early and middle Bronze Age (around 2000 - 1000 BC). All of the upstanding barrows in this group present the appearance of unditched bowl barrows, the absence of ditches being supported by air photographic evidence and confirmed for all examples that have been excavated. The modern fence crossing by the E side of the barrow is excluded from the scheduling but the land beneath it 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:

15024

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Todd, M, The South-West to A.D. 1000, (1987), 148-50

Other
Fox, A., South-West England, (1964)
Devon SMR entry for SX 99 NW-021, -026, -027 and -052,
Devon SMR entries for SX 99 NW-119 and -120,
Devon SMR entry for SX 99 NW-001,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.