The Three Burrows

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 having been reduced by cultivation, the bowl barrows known as the Three Burrows survive as recognisable mounds and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the period and landscape in which they were built.

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas, includes three plough-reduced Bronze Age bowl barrows situated just east of Chiverton Cross and south east of St Peter's Church at Three Burrows. The three barrows probably gave rise to the place-name for the area. The two barrows which lie 450m south east of St Peter's Church lie about 25m apart and appear as mounds between 20m and 22m in diameter and 1m high; neither has any discernable sign of an encircling ditch. The third barrow, some 80m west of the pair, has a mound 1.5m high and 20m in diameter with traces of a surrounding quarry ditch.

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:

29604

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Warner, R, Cornish Archaeology in Parish of Kenwyn, Vol. 4, (1965), 76

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.