Bowl barrow known as How Hill, east of Heronfield Belt

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, known as How Hill survives well and is a prominent landmark. Although there is evidence for an unrecorded antiquarian excavation, the area of disturbance is small in relation to the monument as a whole which will retain archaeological information concerning its construction and the manner and duration of its use. Evidence for the local environment prior to and during that time will also be preserved in soils buried beneath the mound and in the fills of the buried ditch. The proximity of the barrow to a number of other barrows in this part of the Breckland region, in particular the Icklingham barrow cemetery which lies approximately 2km to the south east, give it additional interest. The majority of these barrows are sited on land which was in the past, and in many cases still is, heathland and warren. Together these barrows give some evidence of the character, development and density of the prehistoric population in this area.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow and is situated on a west facing slope immediately to the north of the A11 trunk road. The barrow is visible as an earthen mound, standing to a height of approximately 2.6m with a maximum diameter of 35m. A hollow on the eastern side of the mound, measuring about 10m wide at the base by 5m wide at the top and approximately 1m deep, is thought to be the result of an unrecorded antiquarian excavation. A letter from W G Clarke to Cyril Fox, dated 1923, states that `a cinerary urn has been found there and broken up'. It is thought that the mound is encircled by a ditch from which earth was quarried during the construction of the barrow, and although this has now become completely infilled and is no longer visible, it will survive as a buried feature 3m wide. The fence on the south side of the monument is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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:

31094

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Fox, C, Archaeology of the Cambridge Region, (1923)
Briscoe, G, Proceedings of the Cambridge Archaeological Society in Bronze Age Burials at How Hill Icklingham, Vol. 48, (1955)

End of official list entry

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