Details

The monument is Yearn's Low bowl barrow. It is located in a slight col on a
ridge, with higher ground to the east and west, and includes a mound of earth
and stones 19m in diameter and up to 1.5m high. Nineteenth century
investigation of the barrow's centre has left a hollow 0.8m deep; to the north
of this is a trench 0.5m deep resulting from a small excavation undertaken
during the 1970's. The antiquarian investigation located Roman coins, glass
beads and some bones. No finds are recorded from the more recent excavation
which was abandoned shortly after it began due to a change in the monument's
ownership. Two drystone walls which cross the barrow and meet south-east of
its summit are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them
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.

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 limited 19th and 20th century excavation of the monument's centre and
a small area to the north, Yearn's Low bowl barrow survives reasonably well.
The site is a rare example in Cheshire of a bowl barrow displaying re-use
during the Roman period. Further evidence of interments and grave goods will
exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Sainter, J D, Scientific Rambles Around Macclesfield, (1878), 16
Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)

Source: Historic England