Bowl barrow 250m south east of Redhill Farm

Overview

Location

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 250m south east of Redhill Farm is a comparatively well- preserved example of its class. Despite some erosion, the barrow retains much of its original profile and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age beliefs, economy and environment.

Details

The monument includes a ditched bowl barrow situated on a gentle south facing slope, immediately below the crest of a hill 250m south east of Redhill Farm. The barrow includes a mound 30m in diameter and 1.8m high with a gently sloping profile. Surrounding the mound is a ditch approximately 3m wide, now only visible on the south west side but surviving as a buried feature elsewhere around the mound. To the east of the drystone wall the mound survives as a slight rise extending approximately 3m out from the wall. The drystone wall and a post and barbed wire fence which cross the east edge of the barrow are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

29774

Legacy System:

RSM

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.