Bowl barrow 420m ESE of South Walk 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.

The bowl barrow 420m ESE of South Walk Farm is a prominent earthwork occupying a commanding position on the crest of a ridge above the valley of the River Bain and immediately adjacent to High Street from which it is clearly visible. Valuable archaeological deposits, including funerary remains, will be retained beneath the mound and in the fills of the buried ditch. These will contain information relating to the dating and construction of the monument. Environmental deposits preserved in the same features will contain information on the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set. The proximity of further bowl barrows to the south, and the monument's association with High Street which originated as a prehistoric trackway, is indicative of the ritual significance of this location. The frequency of these monuments poses wider questions concerning settlement patterns and demography during the prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a Bronze Age bowl barrow prominently situated 130m above sea level on the summit of a ridge above the valley of the River Bain. The circular mound measures approximately 14m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 1.25m above the surrounding arable field, which slopes away from the monument on all sides. Although the line of the encircling ditch from which material for the mound would have been quarried is not visible, it is thought that this will survive beneath the present ground surface. No records of archaeological excavation are known and it is thought that the monument and the burial deposits within it remain largely intact. The bowl barrow is adjacent to the prehistoric trackway now formalised as High Street, and lies some 150m NNW of a similar monument located within Tongue Piece Holt, and c.400m SSE of the long barrow north east of South Walk Farm, both of which are the subject of separate schedulings (SM27877 and SM27899).

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

27878

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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