Two bowl barrows on Aldringham Green

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 two bowl barrows on Aldringham Green survive well. Both have undergone some disturbance but this has been on a small scale in relation to the monument as a whole, which retains important archaeological information. Evidence concerning the construction of the barrows, the duration and manner of their use, and also the local environment at that time, will be contained in the barrow mounds, in the soils buried beneath the mounds and beneath the bank around the western barrow, and in the fills of the surrounding ditches. The survival of an outer bank is an unusual feature for this area. The two barrows are part of a group of at least five barrows in the vicinity; together these will provide information concerning the use of the area during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated near the edge of a south-west facing slope overlooking the Hundred River. The larger of the two is visible as an earthen mound encircled by a ditch and an outer bank. The mound covers an area c.21m in diameter and stands to a height of 1.2m. The ditch, from which earth was dug and used during construction of the barrow, but which has become largely infilled, has a maximum width of 4m, and the bank surrounding it measures c.5m in width and 0.3m in height. The total diameter of the barrow is therefore c.39m. A section of the outer bank on the southern side of the barrow has been cut away by the eroded side of an old sand pit. The second barrow, which lies 7.5m to the south-east of the first, is visible as a mound encircled by a ditch. The mound covers a circular area c.14m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 0.6m. A slight hollow in the centre marks the site of an old excavation. The surrounding ditch is c.3m wide, and is visible as a hollow 0.25m deep in the ground surface. The total diameter of the barrow is c.20m.

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:

21277

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Source Date: Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
AM7, (1959)

End of official list entry

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