Bully Hill bowl barrow, 550m ESE of Bully Hill Farm

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 550m ESE of Bully Hill Farm s a substantial, well preserved and prominent earthwork feature clearly visible from the public highway. The investigations in 1860, whilst causing limited damage to the barrow, clearly demonstrated the funerary nature of the monument, and Roman pottery discovered in the mound was indicative of interest in and activity at the site well beyond the period of its initial construction. Considerable archaeological evidence will remain within and below the mound which will include important information regarding the processes of the monument's construction and the evolution of Bronze Age burial practices. Environmental evidence will also be retained on the original ground surface beneath the mound and in the buried ditch illustrating the nature of the landscape in which the monument was constructed. The monument is one of a number of Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds associated with the route of the prehistoric trackway now formalised as High Street (the B1225). The frequency of these sites attests to the continuing ritual significance of the area during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods and poses important questions concerning patterns of prehistoric settlement.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a bowl barrow located c.146m above sea level, in arable land 550m ESE of Bully Hill Farm. The tree-crowned earthwork is circular, c.25m in diameter, and stands to a height of 3m, prominently situated above the valley of the River Rase. A part investigation of the mound in 1860 found human burials and cremation material with prehistoric and Roman pottery. It is thought that the encircling ditch from which material for the construction of the mound would have been quarried survives buried beneath the present ground surface and this is included in the 5m margin around the base of the mound. A number of other Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds are sited in the vicinity of the monument within an area which is adjacent to the prehistoric trackway now formalised as High Street (the B1225).

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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

27868

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Petch, D, Lincolnshire Archit: and Archaeol: Society Reports and Papers in The Excavation of a Barrow, Kirmond le Mire, 1859, (1960), 3
Petch, D, Lincolnshire Archit: and Archaeol: Society Reports and Papers in The Excavation of a Barrow, Kirmond le Mire, 1859, (1960), 3

Other
letter describing excavation, Tennyson D'Eyncourt, C, Letter to George Tennyson D'Eyncourt, (1859)

End of official list entry

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