Two bowl barrows 100m east of Catkill 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.

Despite damage to part of the western barrow, the two bowl barrows 100m east of Catkill Cross survive comparatively well and contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding landscape.

Details

This monument includes two bowl barrows situated on a spur between two unnamed tributaries of the Little Silver Stream. The western barrow has a diameter of 24.6m and is 1.47m high. The ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the mound survives on the western side as a 1.1m wide and 0.4m deep hollow. Elsewhere it is preserved as a buried feature. A small crescent shaped portion has been cut from the southern side of the mound as a result of the construction of a building which itself is no longer extant. The eastern barrow lies 27m from the first and survives as a 9.5m diameter and 0.4m high mound. Its quarry ditch is no longer visible and survives as a buried feature c.1m wide.

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:

28604

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proc Devon Arch Soc in The Barrows of North Devon, Vol. 28, (1970), 127
Grinsell, L V, Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings in , Vol. 28, (1970), 127

Other
National Archaeological Record, SS72SE4,
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1995)

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