Two bowl barrows on Woodbury Common, both 330m east of Four Firs

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 two bowl barrows on Woodbury Common survive well in association with a number of other recorded barrows in the vicinity. Both barrows will retain archaeological information about their construction and the region in which they were set, and both have evidence for their modification as part of post- medieval landscaping of this area.

Details

The monument, which falls into two separate areas, includes two Bronze Age bowl barrows aligned north - south and situated about 40m apart on Woodbury Common. The barrows lie on relatively flat ground on the south facing part of the common on either side of the B3179 Yettington to Woodbury road. Both barrows have clear bowl-shaped profiles varying in height between 2m for the northern barrow to 2.5m for the southern. Both barrow mounds have a diameter of 14m and both are surrounded by quarry ditches. The northern barrow has an encircling ditch 2.5m wide and 0.5m deep whilst the southern has an encircling ditch 1.9m wide and 0.4m deep. Both mounds are surrounded at a further distance by a bank, and an outer ditch of perhaps more recent construction thought to be part of a landscaping modification of the late 18th or early 19th century, which are not included in the scheduling.

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:

29651

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Southwell, C, An Archaeological Survey of Woodbury Common, (1980)
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 45
Tyler, F C, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries in Mounds on Woodbury Common, Vol. 16, (1931), 340

Other
Probert, S A J, RCHME Field Investigation, (1990)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry