Bowl barrow 260m north east of Ralegh's Cross Hotel

Reasons for Designation

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south western peninsula of England. In contrast to the others, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little excavation of its monuments. However, detailed survey work by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England has confirmed a comparable richness of archaeological remains, with evidence of human exploitation and occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. Many of the field monuments surviving on Exmoor date from the later prehistoric period. Examples include stone settings, stone alignments, standing stones, and burial mounds (`barrows'). Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500BC. 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. Over 370 bowl barrows, varying in diameter from 2m to 35m, have been recorded on Exmoor. Many of these are found on or close to the summits of the three east-west ridges which cross the moor - the southern escarpment, the central ridge, and the northern ridge - whilst individual barrows and groups may also be found on lower lying ground and hillslopes. Those which occupy prominent locations form a major visual element in the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.



Despite having been ploughed in the past, the bowl barrow 260m north east of Ralegh's Cross Hotel survives well and will contain archaeological deposits and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Additionally, it is one of a number of round barrows which occupy prominent positions on or near a well-defined course along the Brendon Hills which is sometimes referred to as the Brendon Hills Ridgeway.

Details

The monument includes a prehistoric bowl barrow located near Ralegh's Cross on the summit of a broad ridge which extends along the Brendon Hills area of Exmoor. The near-circular mound is a maximum of 41m in diameter and up to 1.5m high, and is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried for its construction. Although the quarry ditch has become largely infilled over the millennia and is no longer clearly visible, it will survive as a buried feature approximately 3m to 4m wide.

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:

35316

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of Somerset Archaelogical & Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, Vol. 113 pt1, (1969), 113

End of official list entry