Round barrow 30m north east of Old Mill House

Overview

Location

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.

Although reduced in size this barrow remains identifiable and significant archaeological deposits will be preserved. The survival of excavation records of the round barrow adds to its importance. Excavation of other round barrows in the region have shown that they demonstrate a very wide range of burial rites from simple scatters of cremated material to coffin inhumations and cremations contained in urns, typically dating to the Bronze Age. A common factor is that barrows were normally used for more than one burial and that the primary burial was frequently on or below the original ground surface, often with secondary burials located within the body of the mound. Most barrows include a small number of grave goods. These are often small pottery food vessels, but stone, bone, jet and bronze items have also occasionally been found. Excavation has also shown that even where no encircling depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately around the outside of barrows frequently survive as infilled features, containing additional archaeological deposits.

Details

The monument includes a round barrow situated on level ground approximately 1.5km south west of the coast. It is one of a group of similar monuments lying on the coastal shelf between the sea and the predominantly heather covered moorland to the west. The area has been enclosed and brought into agricultural use however it is known that the prehistoric period saw intensive use of the land for agricultural and ritual purposes and some remains of these activities survive today.

The barrow has an earth and stone mound shown on a map in 1928 to measure approximately 10m in diameter. Although subsequently reduced by agricultural and horticultural activity remains of the barrow can still be seen as a low mound 10m in diameter and 0.5m in height. There are traces of a slight hollow on the north east flank. This has been identified as the work of Tissiman who opened the barrow in 1857. The excavation uncovered three funerary urns in which some fragments of human bone were found.

Similar monuments elsewhere in the Moors sometimes have an encircling ditch around the mound although this may often be infilled and not visible as an earthwork. There are no surface remains of a ditch around this mound, although it is expected to survive as a burned feature.

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:

34847

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Smith, M J B, Excavated Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Durham and N' land., (1994), 1-32

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.