Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the lip of a steep east facing
scarp slope. The barrow is visible as a well defined, slightly oval mound of
earth and stone construction, with dimensions of 11.7m north-east to
south-west by 10m transversely and standing up to 0.8m high. The summit of the
mound is flattened and slightly hollowed as a result of exploration at some
time in the past forming a shallow central crater 3m in diameter and 0.2m
deep. The centre of this crater shows the inner fabric of the mound to
comprise angular limestone blocks of a fairly uniform size between 10cm and
20cm. Although not visible at surface level, a ditch, from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This
has become infilled through the passage of time but survives as a buried
feature some 2m wide.

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.

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. 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.

Despite some limited disturbance the northern bowl barrow of the pair on
Grindle Nills remains in good condition and is a good example of this class of
round barrow. It will retain archaeological deposits and environmental
evidence relating to the landscape in which it was built sealed on the old
land surface beneath the mound and in the ditch fill. It is one of two similar
monuments which occur in close proximity on the hill and, as such, contributes
information relating to the land-use and settlement density of this part of
the Long Mynd uplands during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England