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 barrow 810m south of Skipwith church, one of a group on Skipwith Common,
survives well as it escaped the disturbance from intensive agriculture which
has affected the majority of sites in this region. Excavation of similar sites
elsewhere have shown that round barrows demonstrate a wide range of burial
rites from simple scatters of cremated material to coffin inhumations and
cremations contained in urns, typically dating to the Bronze Age. A common
factor is that barrows were normally used for more than one burial and that
the primary burial was frequently on or below the original ground surface,
often with secondary burials located within the body of the mound. Most
barrows include a small number of grave goods. These are often small pottery
food vessels, but stone, bone, jet and bronze items have also occasionally
been found.
Details
The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial
mound located on the northern side of Skipwith Common, 800m south of Skipwith
church.
The round barrow survives as a 6m diameter round topped mound standing up to
1m high with evidence of a mainly infilled encircling ditch 2m wide. The mound
has a small central depression up to 0.3m deep and is skirted on its northern
side by a footpath. It is one of a group of four Bronze Age round barrows
surviving as upstanding earthworks on Skipwith Common. Centred 1km to the
west, there is a square barrow cemetery of Iron Age date which also survives
as upstanding earthworks.
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.
