Two bowl barrows 300m north west of Northay 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 part of one of the bowl barrows being truncated by the construction of a road, the remaining section of this and its adjoining barrow survive well. Part excavation has shown that they contain archaeological deposits and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated on the crest of a south facing slope in the eastern region of the Blackdown Hills. The barrows are adjacent to one another, broadly following a north to south alignment, with the ditch of the barrow to the south partly overlying the ditch of the barrow to the north. The mound of the southern barrow is oval- shaped, approximately 1m high, 21m long and 16m wide and is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. This has become infilled and survives as a buried feature visible on aerial photographs, from which it can be calculated to be approximately 2m wide. Part of the northern barrow has been truncated on the north eastern side by the construction of a road. The profile of the remaining section of the mound has become blurred by cultivation, however, previous survey has shown the mound to be oval and approximately 18m wide. A part excavation of both barrows was carried out in 1876. The northern barrow revealed a `barrel-shaped' pottery urn, inverted over a mixture of burnt bones and ash, and a small cup containing more burnt bone and ash which may have been an interment of a mother and infant. Further finds, including inhumations, possibly sacrificial, and a bronze dagger blade were also recovered during the excavation. A ring of stones and several inverted urns standing on square clay tiles, together with a cist containing ashes were among the finds recovered from the southern barrow. All fence posts and telegraph poles 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.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

32165

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Elton, C I, Proceedings of the Archaeological and Natural History Society in Northay Barrow, Vol. 28,Pt 1, (1876), 37-40
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of Somerset Archaelogical & Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, Vol. 113, pt1, (1969), 41

End of official list entry

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