Three bowl barrows 200m west of Belle Vue Farm

Overview

Location

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.

Although these barrows have been partially altered by agricultural activity, their chalk mounds are clearly visible and below ground remains, including the encircling ditches and the contents of grave pits, will survive intact.

The Yorkshire Wolds are particularly rich in certain types of prehistoric remains, including barrows and extensive boundary earthworks. Because they exhibit close topographical associations, these monuments offer important scope for the study of the division of land for social, ritual and agricultural purposes in different geographical areas during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows, ranged in an east-west line and situated on a prominent knoll overlooking High Field, to the north, and Croome Dale, to the west. Numerous other burial mounds, of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods, are known in the vicinity and the barrows near Belle Vue Farm also lie 800m north of a later prehistoric boundary earthwork in Collingwood Plantation. Although altered by agricultural activity, the barrows are still visible as mounds of chalk, clearly distinguishable from the surrounding natural soil which is relatively chalk-free. Over the years these mounds have spread to cover the ditches which originally encircled them and from which material for their construction was quarried; although no longer visible as earthworks the ditches have been identified on aerial photographs. The mound material has also been spread into the spaces between the barrows. The westernmost barrow mound, 0.3m high and 21m in diameter, covers a ditch 10m in diameter. The middle barrow lies 35m to the east; its mound is 0.5m high by 18m in diameter and overies a 10m diameter ditch. Thirty metres east of this barrow, the easternmost barrow lies adjacent to the farm track; this has a mound which is only slightly elevated. It is 25m in diameter with a 12m diameter ditch. Bowl barrows on the Yorkshire Wolds commonly contain burials placed in burial pits, up to 2m in depth, cut into the old ground surface beneath the mound. As there is no evidence that the barrows west of Belle Vue Farm have ever been excavated, the remaining structure of the mounds, the infilled ditches and burial pits will survive intact. Any metalling on the surface of the farm track is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground 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:

20583

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Stoertz, C, (1992)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.