Five bowl barrows 480m and 510m north of Hendra Farm

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 five bowl barrows 480m and 510m north of Hendra Farm survive well, showing their original bowl type profiles as well as their ditches in several cases. Their mounds remain substantially intact, despite evidence for limited disturbance in some. The old land surface beneath the mounds and any surviving original deposits associated with them will also remain substantially intact. The ridge-top location of the wider barrow cemetery illustrates well the important role of topography in prehistoric funerary activity, and the near alignment of four of the barrows in this scheduling shows the importance of spatial organisation within barrow cemeteries.

Details

The scheduling includes five prehistoric bowl barrows, situated on the south west shoulder of a ridge east of Carland Cross. The barrows are closely grouped: four extend over 98m as an almost straight north-south alignment, with the fifth located 20m ENE of the northern barrow in the row. The barrows are closely associated with others beyond this scheduling, together forming a ridge-top barrow cemetery. This scheduling is divided into two areas of protection. The barrow to the ENE of the row of four has a mound of earth with some small stones, approximately 17m in diameter and 2.5m high. The mound's rounded profile is broken on the west side by an irregular step curving up from north to south, resembling an overgrown track. In the top of the mound is a hollow, 5.9m north-south by 5.7m east-west and up to 0.8m deep, considered to be an antiquarian excavation. A quarry ditch is visible around the mound on the west and north sides, forming a depression up to 2.5m wide and 0.3m deep. The northernmost barrow in the row of four has a mound approximately 16m in diameter and 2.7m high. The next barrow to the south has a mound approximately 11m in diameter and 2.2m high. A hollow in the top of the mound near the centre, 2m across and 0.5m deep, is considered to be the result of an antiquarian excavation. Remains of a ditch around the mound are visible on the south side, forming a depression up to 1.5m wide and 0.1m deep. Further south in the row, the next barrow has a mound approximately 14m in diameter and 2.1m high. A portion of the mound has been reduced on its south east side, leaving a sloping face 2.5m in from the perimeter. The southern barrow in the row has a mound approximately 20.5m in diameter and 3.2m high, of earth and some small quartz stones. A hollow 3m across and 0.5m deep in the top of the mound, west of centre, is considered to be the result of an antiquarian excavation. Remains of a ditch around the mound are visible on the south side, forming a depression up to 2m wide and 0.2m 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:

32906

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Henderson, C, Parochial Antiquities in Parochial Antiquities, Vol. 3, (1916), 209
Prior, R, Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, Vol. 13, (1898), 435-436

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 2" drawing Source Date: 1811 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map Source Date: 1879 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Pickering, J, 64 31 21 A, APR 8553 2, (1964)
Saunders, A, AM 7, (1958)
Saunders, A, AM 7, (1958)
Letter 43, Thomas, R, Letter to the West Briton, (1850)
CAU, F23 103, (1989)
Dawes, G to Preston-Jones, A, (1989)

End of official list entry

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