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 Bronze Age bowl barrow known as Grim's Mound stands as a substantial, well
preserved and accessible earthwork which will retain valuable archaeological
deposits, including human remains, beneath the mound and within the fills of
the ditch. These deposits will also contain environmental evidence
illustrating the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set.
The slight deviation of the trackway at this point illustrates the impact of
the monument in the subsequent development of the landscape.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork remains of a bowl barrow known as Grim's
Mound located 110m above sea level in a commanding position on the summit of a
spur between the River Bain and one of its tributaries. It is a grassy mound
some 19m in diameter and 2.6m high, situated adjacent to a trackway running
between the sites of the medieval villages of Biscathorpe and Calcethorpe.
This trackway, which is today known as the Viking Way, overlies the eastern
perimeter of the monument and it bends slightly at this point.
Chance finds of worked flint have been recovered from the plough soil around
the monument which itself is largely undisturbed. Although the encircling
ditch, from which material for the mound was quarried, is not visible, it is
thought to survive buried beneath the present ground surface.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
