Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, situated close to the summit of Whitesheet Hill, overlooking the confluence of the Rivers Frome and Hooke. The barrow survives as a circular mound measuring approximately 13m in diameter and 1m high. It is surrounded by a buried quarry ditch, from which the construction material was derived. There is slight hollow in the centre of the mound and it lies immediately to the south of the parish boundary between Toller Fratum and Chilfrome.

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-450668

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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. 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. The bowl barrow 660m south west of Chilstock survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, territorial significance, social organisation, funerary and ritual practices and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England