Bowl barrow 35m north east of Mouseberry Cross on Meshaw Moor

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.

The bowl barrow 35m north east of Mouseberry Cross survives comparatively well and contains archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding landscape. This barrow forms part of a wider distribution which includes several barrows situated in this part of Devon.

Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow which lies on a high upland ridge to the north east of Mouseberry Cross on Meshaw Moor. It forms an outlier to a round barrow cemetery which lies to the east and is the subject of a separate scheduling. The monument survives as a 2.3m high oval shaped mound which measures 29.5m long from east to west and 27.7m wide from north to south. The surrounding ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived survives mainly as a buried feature, although traces of the ditch are evident. To the west the ditch appears to be 2.2m wide and up to 0.1m deep, to the north it measures up to 4m wide and 0.1m deep and to the east it measures 3.4m wide and 0.1m deep. To the south the mound and ditch have been cut by a field boundary's construction trench. The mound has been slightly flattened on its northern side.

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:

30316

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS71NE7, (1982)

End of official list entry

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