Bowl barrow 490m north west of Pen Hill 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 some disturbance to the mound of the bowl barrow 490m north west of Pen Hill Farm caused by its partial excavation in antiquity, it survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow of prehistoric date located below the crest of a south facing slope towards the western end of Pen Hill, which is situated on the eastern edge of the Mendip Hills. The barrow mound is approximately 0.65m high and 14m in diameter and, in common with other barrows in the area, is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. Although the ditch has become infilled by agriculture over the centuries, and is no longer visible at ground level it survives as a buried feature approximately 1.5m wide. It has been noted from a previous survey that the mound had a hollow at its centre and, although this is not now distinct, it is likely to indicate partial excavation in antiquity.

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:

34863

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, Vol. 115, (1971), 116
Tratman, E K, Proc Univ Bristol Spel Soc in Fieldwork, Vol. 5(1), (1938), 82

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