Boswell bowl barrow, 700m north of Cocked Hat Plantation

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.

Boswell bowl barrow survives as a well-preserved earthwork which, despite some minor disturbance in recent times, is thought to be largely intact. The barrow mound will contain valuable archaeological deposits, including human remains and artefacts, relating to the date of its construction, its period of use and the religious beliefs of the community who built the barrow. Further deposits contained within the fills of the buried ditch will provide evidence of activities focussed on the barrow during the Bronze Age and subsequent periods. Environmental evidence from both the mound and the ditch may illustrate the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set.

Details

The monument includes Boswell bowl barrow, located 700m north of Cocked Hat Plantation. The barrow is situated on a plateau above two small tributaries of the River Bain. The barrow mound, which is considered to have been constructed in the Bronze Age, is some 45m in diameter and stands to a height of about 1.8m. Material for the construction of the mound is thought to have been quarried from an encircling ditch. This ditch has been infilled and buried over the years and is no longer visible, although it is thought to survive beneath the present ground surface and is included in the scheduling. Apart from some slight disturbance caused by the laying of a cable earlier this century, there is no evidence to suggest that the barrow has been excavated, and it is thought to survive largely intact.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

29724

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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