Bowl barrow 550m south east of Abbots Ripton Hall

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 550m south east of Abbots Ripton Hall survives as a substantial earthwork with associated buried features. It is exceptionally well preserved. The reuse of the mound during the medieval period indicates its continued importance as a local landmark. As the barrow does not appear to have been excavated, archaeological deposits are expected to survive largely intact with the potential for the recovery of valuable artefactual and ecological evidence for over 4000 years of human activity.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated 550m south east of Abbots Ripton Hall. The barrow is situated on a slight slope with good visibility in all directions. The mound is preserved as a prominent earthwork and covers an area of approximately 19m in diameter. Its height varies between 1m and 1.5m. The encircling ditch, from which earth was dug in the construction of the mound, is visible as a shallow depression on the north and west where it is approximately 4m wide; elsewhere it will survive as a buried feature of similar width. Local tradition suggests that this barrow may have served as a mill mound in the medieval period.

The fences on the south side of the mound are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 3 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:

33354

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry