Two bowl barrows on Barren Down, 250m north west of Princes Lodge

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 two bowl barrows on Barren Down, 250m north west of Princes Lodge survive well as visible monuments in an area which takes its name from the burial mounds (being a corruption of Barrow Down). They are known from partial excavation to contain archaeological deposits and environmental evidence relating to the barrows and the landscape in which they were constructed.

Details

The monument includes two Late Neolithic to Bronze Age bowl barrows situated on Barren Down on the northern outskirts of Shepton Mallet. The barrows lie adjacent to each other and are aligned broadly from north east to south west on the south facing slope of the Down. Each barrow is formed by a slightly irregular bowl shaped mound approximately 1.5m in height. The mound of the southernmost barrow is 18m across from north to south and 16m from east to west. The mound of the northernmost barrow, located less than 3m north east of the former and separated from it by a narrow neck of ground, measures 11m from north to south and 15m from east to west. A partial excavation of both barrows carried out in 1953 revealed a primary cremation contained in a rock cut cist, 1.3m across, located in the centre of the mound of the southernmost barrow. It also revealed that the barrow had previously been dug into, probably in antiquity. The northernmost barrow revealed a cremation of a child of about ten years old located just east of the mound centre on the original ground surface.

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:

33717

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1971), 118
Grinsell, L, Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1971), 118

End of official list entry

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