Bowl barrow 375m north east of Higher Eworthy

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 reduction in its height through cultivation and the partial cutting of the ditch on the eastern side by a field boundary, the bowl barrow 375m north east of Higher Eworthy survives comparatively well and will contain both archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding landscape.

Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow on an upland ridge overlooking the valley of a tributary to the River Wolf. The monument includes an oval mound measuring 24.7m long from north to south by 23.6m wide from east to west and 0.5m high. A surrounding quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived is preserved as a buried feature measuring approximately 3m in width. A field boundary crosses the ditch of the barrow on its eastern side; this boundary is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

34276

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX49NW9, (1982)

End of official list entry

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