Two bowl barrows 450m and 520m north east of Sandymoor Cross, forming part of a round barrow cemetery

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The two bowl barrows 450m and 520m north east of Sandymoor Cross, which form part of a round barrow cemetery survive comparatively well, despite some disturbance through early excavation to the westernmost barrow. These barrows will contain both archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding landscape. Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow, with over 10,000 examples recorded nationally. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds each covering single or multiple burials.

Details

The monument, which includes two bowl barrows in two seperate areas of protection and forming part of a round barrow cemetery, is located on a high upland ridge overlooking the valley of a tributary to the River Claw. The western barrow mound measures 30.5m diameter and up to 1m in height. There is a roughly circular hollow, just east of the centre, which measures 3.4m in diameter and up to 0.2m deep; otherwise it appears as a gently sloping rounded mound. The eastern barrow mound measures 28.6m in diameter and 1.1m in height. It is a rounded mound of slightly steeper profile than the western barrow. Each barrow mound is surrounded by a quarry ditch from which material was derived during its construction. These ditches are no longer visible but survive as approximately 3m wide buried features. Six other barrows which make up the cemetery lie to the west, east, south west and south and are the subject of separate schedulings.

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:

34267

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX39NE9, (1983)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX39NE12, (1983)

End of official list entry

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