Bowl barrow 590m north west of Challacombe Cross, forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Horridge Moor

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite ploughing over the years, the bowl barrow lying 590m north west of Challacombe Cross survives comparatively well and contains archaeological and environmental information relating to the mound and the surrounding landscape. This mound forms part of a round barrow cemetery which includes at least seven barrows and a ring ditch.

Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated in a prominent location on a south east facing ridge overlooking the valley of the Huntacott Water. The barrow forms part of a round barrow cemetery which includes at least seven mounds and a ring ditch. This barrow survives as a circular mound with a diameter of 16.2m standing up to 0.7m high. The ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived surrounds the barrow and survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The other barrows forming this cemetery are the subject of separate schedulings.

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:

28629

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1995)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS71NW5, (1988)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.