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Two bowl barrows on Aylesbeare Common, 630m east and 760m east of Brackendale

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018054
Date first listed:: 09-Aug-1923

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018054
Date first listed:: 09-Aug-1923
Date of most recent amendment:: 17-Sep-1998

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Devon
District:: East Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Aylesbeare
National Grid Reference:: SY 05414 90027, SY 05540 89994

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.

These two bowl barrows on Aylesbeare Common are well preserved examples set in a commanding position clearly visible from the surrounding area; they stand in association with a number of other recorded barrows in the area. Both of the barrows will retain archaeological information about their construction and use, and the landscape in which they were built.

Details

The monument, which falls into two separate areas, includes two Bronze Age bowl barrows aligned broadly east-west and situated about 140m apart on Aylesbeare Common immediately north of the A3052. Both barrows lie on high ground near the summit of Harpford Hill and they command views in all directions. The western barrow is 2m high and 16.5m across with a rounded profile and an encircling ditch 1.6m wide and 0.2m deep. The mound of the barrow has a matrix of dark earth and pebbles. The eastern barrow is 1.6m high and 20.6m across with a flat top and an encircling ditch 1.4m wide and 0.3m deep.

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:: 29655
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, (1983), 28
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, (1983), 28

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.