Bowl barrow 125m south of St Peter's Church at 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 evidence for part excavation in antiquity, the barrow south of St Peter's Church at Three Burrows is a well preserved example which will retain many of its original features providing information about the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a large bowl barrow situated astride the property boundary separating Burrow Farm from The Old Vicarage 100m south of St Peter's Church at Three Burrows. The barrow mound stands 3m high and 18m in diameter; it has formerly been ploughed around its edge leaving a vertical cut about 1m in height all around the circumference. A central pit at the summit of the barrow suggests antiquarian investigation or internal collapse. The barrow lies about 400m west of the three barrows from which the area takes its name. All fencing, fence posts, garden seats, a corrugated iron garden shed built into the south west side of the barrow mound and a concrete retaining wall against which the shed is built are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.

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:

29605

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Warner, R, Cornish Archaeology in Parish of Perranzabuloe, Vol. 2, (1963), 67

Other
Chiverton Cross 1990, 1990,

End of official list entry

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