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 limited disturbance of its central area, the barrow on Robin's
Tump survives well and is a good example of its class. It will retain primary
archaeological material and environmental evidence sealed beneath the mound
and in the ditch fill. It is one of several monuments of a similar age in the
area and, as such, contributes information relating to the intensity of
settlement, nature of land use, burial practices and social structure of the
prehistoric community occupying this area of upland during the Bronze Age.
Details
The monument includes a small bowl barrow situated on the top of a west to
east spur below the summit of Caer Caradoc Hill. The barrow mound is well
defined, circular in plan with a diameter of 9m and stands up to 0.8m high.
The top of the mound has been disturbed creating an irregular shaped hollow
0.2m deep. The fabric of the mound, where it is exposed in this disturbance,
shows it to be of earth and stone construction. The surrounding ditch, from
which the material for the mound would have been quarried, remains visible
around the southern half of the barrow where it is 2.5m wide and 0.1m deep.
Though no longer visible around the northern half of the barrow it will
survive here as a buried feature of similar proportions.
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.
