Two bowl barrows 250m north of Natson 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.

Despite plough damage, the two bowl barrows 250m north of Natson Farm survive comparatively well and contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the mounds, their ditches and their surrounding landscape. These mounds form part of a cluster of funerary and ritual monuments situated close to the present day village of Bow.

Details

This monument includes two bowl barrows, aligned broadly east-west, 250m north of Natson Farm, Bow and 140m south east of the River Yeo in a low lying field occupying a slightly raised spur of land. This monument forms part of a complex of ritual and funerary monuments centred around the village of Bow. The area is also associated with the placename `Nymett' which is thought to have sacred Celtic significance. The eastern barrow survives as a circular mound which measures 20m in diameter and is 1.3m high. The ditch from which material was quarried to construct the mound, surrounds it and is preserved as a buried feature which is clearly visible on aerial photographs. A flint blade and fragment were collected during the fieldwalking of this area in 1991. Forty metres to the west lies a second sub-circular barrow which aerial photographs indicate to have an internal feature and 30m diameter quarry ditch all of which are preserved as buried features. Many of the other funerary and ritual monuments in the area 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:

28638

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Griffith, F M, Prehistoric Society Proceedings in Some Newly Discovered Ritual Monuments in Mid Devon, Vol. 51, (1985), 314

Other
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1996)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS70SW117, (1991)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS70SW57, (1991)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1995)

End of official list entry

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