Bowl barrow, the southernmost 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 southernmost example in West Wood has been spread during sylvicultural activities, it still retains considerable archaeological potential because several areas such as the original ground surface below the mound or the infilled ditches are likely to survive undisturbed. These areas hold evidence of the manner and duration of use of the monument and of the environment in which it was created. This example is also one of a cluster of similar monuments in the locality which demonstrate the importance of the area for burials in the Bronze Age.

Details

The southernmost of the six similar examples in West Wood, the monument includes a bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound and an encircling ditch. The mound is relatively low, surviving to a height of only 0.4m, and measures some 16m in diameter. The surrounding ditch has been completely infilled by erosion of the mound and is not visible on the ground surface. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 20m.

The site of the monument is indicated on the attached `Scheduled Monument' map extract outlined in black and highlighted in red. Although limitations of map depictions and scale may indicate that sites adjoin, they are in fact spatially separate.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

12815

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

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

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