Reasons for Designation
Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
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.
Details
The monument includes earthwork and associated buried remains of a prehistoric
burial mound sited on top of Potato Nab between Aldergate Bank and Rollgate
Bank.
The round barrow is in a very prominent position, overlooking Sleightholme
Dale to the east and Skiplam Moor to the north. It is intervisible with both
Aldergate round barrow sited on the edge of the scarp 750m to the south east
and with the round barrow on Birk Nab 1.25km to the north west. Both these
round barrows are the subject of separate schedulings.
The monument survives as a 13m diameter mound sited just off the highest point
of Potato Nab so that its south west side merges with the modern ground
surface. On its north and south east sides it can be seen to rise to 1m high;
its eastern side merging with the steep scarp down into the dale. The barrow
shows evidence of excavation in the past with a central 5m diameter hollow.
Excavation of other examples of round barrows in the region have shown that
even where no encircling depression is discernible on the modern ground
surface, ditches immediately around the outside of the mound frequently
survive as infilled features, containing additional archaeological deposits. A
margin to allow for such an infilled ditch up to 2m wide around the western
and southern sides is thus also included within the monument. No ditch would
have been possible around the rest of the circuit because of the steep scarp
down into the dale to the east.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
32689
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
