Bowl barrow in Lee's Plantation, East Hill, 560m east of Higher Rill 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.

The bowl barrow at Lee's Plantation will contain buried archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was built. Its adaptation as a landscape feature in the early 19th century gives the barrow an added and unusual dimension.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, later adapted as a woodland feature, sited near the edge of the steep west facing scarp which overlooks the River Otter. The barrow, which survives as a ditched circular platform with a rim, was reportedly one of a number of barrows in the same area which were recut in the early 19th century in order to provide ornamental enclosures for tree planting. The re-shaped mound of the barrow takes the form of an above ground platform about 1.3m high with a surrounding rim 0.4m high. This is in turn surrounded by a ditch 2.4m wide which is partly infilled but is about 0.6m deep. All fencing and fence posts 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 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:

29638

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 40

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey Source Date: 1982 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Hutchinson, P O, Diaries (unpublished), 1854,

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