Two bowl barrows on Blakeney Downs

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 on Blakeney Downs survive well, and although there is evidence that the north eastern of the two has undergone some disturbance, this has been limited in extent. The monument will retain archaeological information concerning the construction of the barrows, the relationship between them, and the manner and duration of their use. Evidence for the local environment during that period is also likely to be preserved in soils buried beneath the mounds and in the fill of the ditches. The two barrows are among a considerable number located on glacial sand and gravel deposits close to the North Norfolk coast, and they have additional interest in this context. The group as a whole, which includes a large round barrow cemetery on and around Salthouse Heath, 5km to the east, provides important evidence for the distribution and character of the prehistoric population of the area.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows sited on the top of Blakeney Downs, a prominent glacial ridge overlooking Morston Salt Marshes to the north. The smaller barrow occupies the higher position on the summit of the ridge, at a distance of c.10m from the second, which is on a slight slope to the south east of it. The barrows are visible as earthen mounds, surrounded by hollows in the ground surface which mark the presence of encircling ditches, now largely infilled, from which earth was dug during the construction of the barrows. The mound of the smaller barrow stands to a height of c.1.1m and covers a circular area c.14m in diameter, and the hollow of the surrounding ditch, which can be seen on the west and south side of the mound, measures c.3.5m in width and 0.2m in depth. The second mound measures c.1.2m in height and c.17m in diameter, and the hollow of the surrounding ditch, of similar dimensions to the other, is visible to the north and west of it. The dating of the barrows and the presence of burials within them was confirmed in 1937, when some sherds of Bronze Age pottery and fragments of bone were recovered during the planting of trees on the mound of the smaller barrow. The posts of a fence which crosses the eastern margin of the south eastern barrow are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

21377

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Bamford, H M, (1994)
6131: North Norfolk, Blakeney,
copy of letter in file, Watson, A Q, 6131: North Norfolk, Blakeney, (1937)
Clarke, R R, 6131: North Norfolk, Blakeney, (1936)

End of official list entry

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