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.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a Bronze Age bowl
barrow located 130m above sea level 730m SSE of South Walk Farm. It is
prominently situated on a plateau above and to the west of the valley of the
River Bain and is directly adjacent to High Street which originated as a
prehistoric trackway. The circular mound stands to a height of some 3m and
measures c.20m in diameter. The ditch from which material for the mound would
have been quarried is not visible but is thought to survive buried beneath the
present ground surface. The smoothly sloping sides of the barrow rise to a
flattened summit into which a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post was
inserted in 1959. This involved the digging of a hole some 7m long by 3.5m
wide and 3m deep into the western segment of the mound. While this work, which
was archaeologically monitored, disturbed the barrow, it had the merit of
demonstrating the probable function of the mound and some indication of its
Bronze Age date was given by the scraps of pottery recovered. The siting of
the monitoring post avoided damage to the significant archaeological deposits
in the central area. A small bunker some 1.5m by 2.5m was also erected on the
summit's surface to the south east. The monitoring post, which was
decommissioned in 1976, is excluded from the scheduling although the ground
beneath is included.
The bowl barrow is one of a number of similar monuments which are associated
with the River Bain and with High Street; the others are the subjects of
separate schedulings.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
27875
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
