Two bowl barrows on West Rudham Common, 1300m east of the Grange

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 two bowl barrows 1300m east of the Grange survive well, with a variety of identifiable features. Archaeological information concerning the construction and the duration and manner of use of the barrows, as well as evidence for the local environment at that time, will be contained in the barrow mounds, in the fill of the ditches and in soils buried beneath the mounds and the external banks. The monument has additional interest and importance in relation to other barrows in the vicinity, including one situated c.90m to the south west and another c.670m to the south, as well as others of Neolithic and Bronze Age date which survive as upstanding earthworks to the south west, dispersed over a distance of c.2.6km. As a group, these barrows provide some evidence for the character and development of the prehistoric population of the area.

Details

The monument includes two adjacent bowl barrows located on level ground immediately to the west of West Rudham parish boundary. The barrows are visible as two flat-topped earthen mounds, each encircled by a ditch, from which earth was dug and used in the construction of the barrow, and by a slight external bank. In the larger of the two, the mound covers an area c.30m in diameter and is c.1.5m in height, measured from the bottom of the surrounding ditch. The ditch has become partly infilled but remains as a well defined hollow, c.10m wide and c.0.8m deep, in the ground surface. The earthen bank around the ditch is up to 6m wide and c.0.3m high, except on the south and south west side of the barrow, where it has been levelled. The second and smaller barrow lies c.10m ESE of the first. The mound has a diameter of c.26m and stands to a height of c.1.2m above the bottom of the surrounding ditch. The ditch is marked by a hollow c.4m wide and up to 0.45m deep, and the bank around the ditch is c.3m wide and c.0.3m in height. On the north east side of the barrow, some later disturbance has removed a part of the bank, leaving a slight hollow.

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:

21348

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
3625: West Norfolk, West Rudham,

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