Bowl barrow 205m SSE of Lodge Cottage

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 the reduction caused by prolonged ploughing, the bowl barrow to the north of Grinnel Hill will retain archaeological information within the silts of the surrounding ditch relating to the monument, and further archaeological deposits, including funerary remains, will survive within deeper features located beneath the mound. The importance of the monument is enhanced by its proximity to the well preserved barrow some 40m to the SSE (Grinnel Hill), comparison with which will provide information concerning the variation and development of Bronze Age burial practices.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow which is situated on the northern facing slope of the chalk hills, some 200m to the south east of the Royston Road (formerly the A10)) and 40m to the NNW of a second, more conspicuous barrow known as Grinnel Hill. In its original condition the monument would have served as a prominent local land mark, clearly visible from the lower ground to the north and west. Successive ploughing has, however, reduced the size of the mound, which now survives to a maximum height of c.0.2m. Material for the construction of the barrow was quarried from a ditch, measuring some 20m in diameter and 2.5m in width, which surrounds the mound. Over the years this ditch has become infilled, yet it survives as a buried feature which has been recorded by aerial photography both as a distinct soil mark and through the differential growth of crops. The barrow is apparently unexcavated and its precise date of construction is uncertain. However, it forms part of a wider group of similar monuments which extend across the eastern Chiltern Hills, to the north and west of Royston, many of which were investigated in the 19th century and found to contain remains dated to the Bronze Age.

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:

24425

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Neville, R C, Sepulchra Exposita, (1848), 17-27

Other
Stephenson, M, An Initial Survey of Prehistory in the Royston Area, 1980, Undergraduate dissertation
CUCAP, RC8/CK106, (1967)
NMR, NMR 3743/3/274, (1976)
Cambridgeshire County Council, 08883 Soil mark on Grinnel Hill, (1985)

End of official list entry

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