Bowl barrow 490m south east of Milton Cross

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 490m south east of Milton Cross is a well preserved example of this class of monument. The barrow mound will retain evidence for its method and phases of construction and for the burial or burials within, enhancing our understanding of the technology, social organisation, and beliefs of its builders. The accumulated ditch fills will contain environmental evidence of activity at and around the barrow, during its initial construction and subsequent periods, including any reuse or refurbishment. The buried ground surface beneath the mound itself will similarly preserve environmental evidence for the prehistoric landscape in it was constructed. The close relationship of the monument with the two neighbouring barrows enhances interest in the individual monuments, and in the group as a focus of burial activity which may have continued over a prolonged period.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a bowl barrow, situated on a level floodplain north of the River Arrow. The land was seasonally flooded and subsesquently divided by a series of drains, many of which have now been filled in. The barrow is in the middle of a line of three similar examples, extending WSW-ENE. A section of Rowe Ditch stretches north- south across the valley for c.800m, passing 250m west of the most westerly of the group. The remains of this middle barrow include an earthen mound, circular in form, and c.24m in diameter by c.0.7m high. Material for the construction of this mound will have been obtained from a surrounding ditch which is now completely infilled. Before the advent of ploughing and the construction of the nearby drains and field boundaries, the three monuments would have formed a clearly visible alignment across the flat valley floor. The other two barrows are the subject of separate schedulings (SM27490, SM27506), as is the Rowe Ditch.

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:

27505

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Watson, M D, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Soc in Ring-Ditches of the Upper Severn Valley, Vol. 67, (1991), 9-14

Other
H&W SMR Officer, (1994)

End of official list entry

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