Bowl barrow north of Hobbin's Belt, 900m south-east of White House Farm: part of Seven Hills barrow cemetery

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 900m south-east of White House Farm is a component of one of the best examples of a round barrow cemetery in Suffolk and, as such, has importance relative to its context within the cemetery as a whole. Most barrow 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 different types of round barrow and, wherever large scale investigation beyond barrows has been undertaken, revealing contemporary or later 'flat' burials beyond the barrow mounds. The barrow, although truncated and levelled on the south-western side by a roadside ditch and verge, retains important archaeological information. Evidence concerning the construction of the barrow, the manner and duration of its use, and also the local environment at that time, will be preserved in the barrow mound and in the soils buried beneath it. Seven Hills cemetery is part of a larger group of round barrows and circular ditched enclosures which extend in a line to the south-east, over a distance of 3km, to Levington Heath. The former parish boundary between Nacton, to the south, and Bucklesham and Foxhall, to the north, follows the same line, showing a relationship which is of particular interest for the study of the prehistoric and medieval landscape history of the area.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow within Seven Hills barrow cemetery, located on the north side of the A1156, north-east of the main group of barrow mounds. It is visible as an irregular earthen mound, truncated on the south- western side by a ditch bordering the verge of the road. Approximately 70% of the original mound survives, standing to a height of 0.8m and covering a semi- circular area measuring c.15m south-east to north-west and 10m north-east to south-west.

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:

21286

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Wodderspoon, J, Memorials of Ipswich, (1850)

Other
Suffolk SMR ACQ30, 31,
No. 8417, Morley, C, East Anglian Miscellany, (1931)

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.