Bowl barrow 500m west of Mariners, one of six in West Wood

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. Their ubiquity and their tendency to occupy prominent locations makes them 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 organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Although this example has been spread during sylvicultural activity, it still retains significant archaeological potential since the crucial areas such as the old ground surface survive undisturbed. This is also one of a group of similar monuments in West Wood which demonstrate the importance of the area for burials in the Bronze Age.

Details

This barrow lies at the southern end of West Wood some 30m north-east of its nearest neighbour. The monument includes a low bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound 16m across and at most 0.4m high, and an encircling ditch which has been completely infilled by erosion of the mound. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 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:

12816

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spurrell, F, Arch Journal in Arch Journal, Vol. 40, (1883), 292

Other
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), (1988)

End of official list entry

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