Two bowl barrows on Colaton Raleigh Common, 500m north and 780m north east of Woodbury Castle

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 Colaton Raleigh Common either side of the B3180 survive well as distinct and high mounds 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 landscaping work in the post-medieval period.

Details

The monument, which falls into two separate areas, includes two Bronze Age bowl barrows aligned broadly east-west and situated about 500m apart on Colaton Raleigh Common on either side of the B3180. Both barrows lie on the crest of a ridge which falls away sharply to the west and both have commanding views in that direction. The eastern barrow, 780m NNE of Woodbury Castle, is 3.5m high with a diameter of 21.7m; it has an encircling ditch 2.2m wide which is partly obscured on the western side by a later bank. The western barrow, 500m north of Woodbury Castle, has a height of 4m and a diameter of 31m. It too has an encircling ditch, in this case 3.7m wide. An old gravel pit lies close to this barrow on its south western side. Both barrows are further enclosed by substantial banks and ditches, the bank surrounding the eastern barrow flanking a road and partly overlying the barrow's associated ditch; these features are considered to be landscaping additions dating from the late 18th or early 19th centuries.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

29654

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Brighouse, U W, Woodbury: A View from the Beacon, (1981), 40-1
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 45
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 45
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 45
Watkin, H R, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries in Woodbury Castle, Virbegna, Vol. 15, (1929), 156-57

Other
Probert, S A J, RCHME Field Investigation, (1990)
Probert, S A J, RCHME Field Investigation, (1990)
Quinnell, Ordnance Survey Survey, (1983)

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