Bowl barrow and pill box 430m WSW of Burnham Westgate Hall

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 bowl barrow 430m WSW of Burnham Westgate Hall survives well, despite limited disturbance caused by excavation for the insertion of a pillbox on the north west side, and will retain archaeological information concerning its construction and the manner and duration of its use. The installation of the pill box in the side of the mound is an instructive example of one of the various ways in which such earthworks have sometimes been exploited for subsequent use up to the present day.

Details

The monument is located to the north of Goose Beck, at the western edge of Burnham Westgate Park alongside Whiteway Road, and includes a bowl barrow which is visible as an earthen mound, standing to a height of c.3m and covering a circular area c.30m in diameter. The mound is thought to be encircled by a ditch from which earth was dug and used in the construction of the barrow, and although this has become infilled and can no longer be traced on the ground surface on the north, south and east sides, it will survive as a buried feature. On the west side the buried ditch extends beneath the Whiteway Road. Here the survival of archaeological remains is considered unlikely and therefore this area is not included within the scheduling. Also included are the remains of a World War II pill box, inserted into the north west side of the mound overlooking the road and facing the coast. The pill box is octagonal in plan with a partly collapsed entrance on the south side and is constructed of concrete faced with brick.

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:

21378

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Spelman, H, Icenia, sive Norfolciae Descriptio Topographica, (1727)

Other
25347: West Norfolk, Burnham Westgate,
Clarke, R R, 1746: West Norfolk, Burnham Westgate, (1934)
NAR TF 84 SW 8,

End of official list entry

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