Three bowl barrows at Creacombe 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 their reduction by ploughing, the three barrows at Creacombe Farm still appear as visible earthworks which will retain information about their construction and use. Their surrounding ditches will contain stratified material and it is likely that their primary burials are undisturbed. Barrows the size of the eastern example are uncommon in Devon.

Details

This monument, which falls into three areas of protection, includes three Late Neolithic to Bronze Age bowl barrows, in a broadly south west to north east alignment, sited on gently sloping ground to the north west of a small combe. The western mound is 42m in diameter by up to 0.5m high and is composed of orange sandy clay. An external ditch about 8m wide is barely perceptible on the ground, but is visible as a cropmark. A few pieces of worked flint were picked up on the surface of the mound. The central mound is 36m in diameter, by up to 0.6m high and composed of orange and grey sandy clay. No outer ditch is visible, though it will survive as a 2.5m wide buried feature. The barrow is cut by a hedgebank bounding a lane to its south. The eastern mound is 52m in diameter by up to 1m high and is composed of orange stony soil. Many pieces of worked flint of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age date were picked up on the mound. The quarry ditch survives as a buried feature 4m wide. The surfacing materials of the lanes alongside the central and eastern barrow are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

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:

33755

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 45

Other
fieldwork by SMR, (1989)
MPP fieldwork by R Waterhouse, (1999)

End of official list entry

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