Bowl barrow on Hartridge, 360m east of Shelves 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.

Despite having been spread by cultivation, the barrow on Hartridge, 360m east of Shelves Farm retains a visible mound and a partly visible associated quarry ditch. It occupies a prominent position in the landscape in an area where few barrows are otherwise recorded. The monument will contain archaeological information about the barrow and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow located in a commanding position on the highest point of the southern spur of Hartridge, a flat-topped ridge which lies about 1.5km west of the valley of the River Otter. The barrow mound has been partly spread by cultivation in antiquity but it retains a height of about 0.9m and has a diameter of about 14m. Surrounding the barrow mound is evidence for the presence of a ditch, most noticeable on the western side, from which material had been quarried for the construction of the barrow. The ditch, which has been infilled over the years, has an average width of about 3.5m and a depth, in places, of about 0.1m, although it will also survive as a buried feature. The monument is marked as a tumulus on the Ordnance Survey plan of 1906.

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:

33023

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proc Devon Arch Soc in The Barrows of North Devon, Vol. 28, (1970), 123

End of official list entry

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