Eight round barrows north of Scotland Corner, 980m south west of Pawton Gate Farm

Reasons for Designation

Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in 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 limited modification, and reduction of one of the mounds, the eight round barrows north of Scotland Corner, 980m south west of Pawton Gate Farm survive well. The underlying old land surfaces, and remains of any structures or other deposits associated with these and with the upstanding earthworks, will also survive. The site provides examples of the differing forms and spatial relationships of barrows. The prominent hilltop location illustrates well the important role of topography in prehistoric funerary activity, and the close association of the barrows with parish boundaries shows one way in which monuments of this type combined with the topography to affect the subsequent development of the landscape.

Details

The monument includes eight prehistoric round barrows, situated on level or slightly sloping ground, on and around the western summit of a hill north east of St Columb Major. The barrows are associated with others beyond this scheduling, forming a distinct group within a wider barrow cemetery. The scheduling is divided into eight separate areas of protection.

The barrows are spaced fairly widely and evenly, though the distances between them vary from about 50m to 350m. Three of the barrows form an alignment running NNW-SSE over the highest part of the hill. All eight command wide views, though not all are intervisible, and the group is closely associated with the boundaries of three parishes.

Moving from west to east across the scheduling, the first barrow is oval in plan, measuring 19m north-south by 16.9m east-west. It has a mound of earth and stone approximately 0.5m high overall, with no evidence for a surrounding quarry ditch. In profile, the mound has a slightly concave top about 12.7m across, with a curving skirt beneath this, merging with it on the east. The second barrow, on the south west in the scheduling, is of platform type, having a relatively low, flat topped earth mound. The mound is approximately 18m in diameter, and generally around 0.5m in height although on the south east, where it projects above a slight natural gradient, it is up to 0.7m high. It has curving sides, and an uneven upper surface with a hollow towards its south east, indicating limited disturbance. There is no sign of an external ditch. The third barrow from the west is sub-circular in plan. Its mound measures 28m north east-south west by 30m north west-south east, and is 0.9m high overall. There is no trace of a ditch around it. The mound contains earth, and local slate and quartz rubble. It has a broad top, platform-like but concave, the centre being some 0.4m below the rim, and sloping sides. Around the western edge is a bank approximately 3m wide and 0.2m high, possibly the result of relatively recent disturbance.

East of this is the barrow on the north of the scheduling, also the northernmost of the three aligned barrows. It has an oval mound of earth and stone and is thought to have been constructed in layers, clay type material being visible above a darker layer. It has no external ditch. The mound is oval, measuring approximately 24m across north-south by 21.5m east-west, and 1.2m high. It has a flattish top, surrounded by a shelf in the region of 1.4m wide and 0.2m-0.3m high, except on the east side where its side curves down to ground level. On the top of the barrow, west of the centre, are several modern piles of stones. A ditch along the north of the mound is also thought to be the result of relatively recent disturbance.

Further east is the barrow standing on the highest point of the hill, in the middle of the scheduling, and in the centre of the alignment of three. This barrow again has an oval mound with no external ditch apparent, made of earth and stones including quartz and slate rubble. It measures 20.5m east-west by 15.8m north-south and its overall height is around 1.7m. The mound is stepped in profile, having a slightly hollow top some 10m across and up to 0.9m high, encircled by a brim around 2m wide and 0.8m high. It has been modified by erosion and by a pit around 4m across and 0.5m deep towards the east.

The next barrow is the third in the alignment, and the most southerly in the scheduling. It has a sub-circular mound measuring 16.2m across north-south by 15.5m east-west, and around 0.7m high, with no surrounding ditch. The fabric of the barrow appears to include clay as well as quartz and slate stones. The mound is of platform type, with fairly steep sides and a slightly concave top. It has a modern deposit of stones towards its east side, and a hollow north of its centre.

In the south east of the scheduling is a barrow thought to have been reduced in modern times, visible as a mound of dark earth with quartz rubble approximately 18m in diameter, irregular in profile but up to 0.4m high.

Lastly, the easternmost barrow in this group has an oval mound, measuring 28m east-west by 25.5m north-south, and 1.7m high; again, no external ditch is known. The fabric of the mound includes clay, earth, and slate and quartz stones. The mound has a rounded, bowl type profile. It has a depression in its top, probably the result of an antiquarian excavation, and a relatively recent hollow in its south side.

All modern fencing is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

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:

32987

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Borlase, W C, Naenia Cornubiae, (1872), 243

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map Source Date: 1908 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Date approx.
Title: St Columb Major Tithe Apportionment Source Date: 1840 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map Source Date: 1880 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Date approx.
Title: Ordnance Survey 1" Map Source Date: 1810 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: St Wenn Tithe Apportionment Source Date: 1841 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: St Issey Tithe Apportionment Source Date: 1841 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: Cornwall Mapping Project Source Date: 1995 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
MS at RIC library, Truro. Date approx, Henderson, C, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, (1917)
MS at RIC library, Truro. Date approx, Henderson, C, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, (1917)
SW 96 NE 3, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1977)
MS at RIC library, Truro. Date approx, Henderson, C, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, (1917)
SW 96 NW 39, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1972)
Saunders, AD, AM7, (1958)
Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1972)
SW 96 NW 37, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1977)

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