Ancient Monuments

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Three bowl barrows 160m west of Little Hendra

A Scheduled Monument in Pelynt, Cornwall

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.3635 / 50°21'48"N

Longitude: -4.5416 / 4°32'29"W

OS Eastings: 219331.1225

OS Northings: 54598.9621

OS Grid: SX193545

Mapcode National: GBR NB.VH86

Mapcode Global: FRA 18C2.QGM

Entry Name: Three bowl barrows 160m west of Little Hendra

Scheduled Date: 6 March 1959

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1004621

English Heritage Legacy ID: CO 559

County: Cornwall

Civil Parish: Pelynt

Traditional County: Cornwall

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cornwall

Church of England Parish: Pelynt

Church of England Diocese: Truro

Details

The monument, which falls into three areas of protection, includes three bowl barrows, situated close to the summit of a ridge between two tributaries of the unnamed river leading to Polperro. The barrows survive as two circular mounds and one oval mound, surrounded by buried quarry ditches, from which the construction material was derived. The northern mound measures 40m in diameter and up to 1.7m high. The southern mound is 38m in diameter and 1.5m high. The eastern mound is oval and measures 40m long by 30m wide and up to 1m high. It is cut on the east side by a farm lane.

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-432197, 432221 and 432200

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. Despite some reduction in their heights through cultivation, the three bowl barrows 160m west of Little Hendra survive well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, relative chronologies, territorial significance, social organisation, ritual and funerary practices and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England

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