Details

The monument is a bowl barrow located on the summit of Sponds Hill. It
includes a slightly oval mound of earth and stones up to 0.5m high with
maximum dimensions of 8.25m by 7.5m.
The Ordnance Survey column on the barrow's summit is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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 the presence of an eroded hollow around the base of the Ordnance
Survey column, the bowl barrow on the summit of Sponds Hill survives
reasonably well. It is not known to have been excavated and will therefore
contain undisturbed archaeological deposits 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)
Other
Darvill,T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
Ref. No. 55a, Scheduled Ancient Monuments List, (1986)
SMR No. 1627/1/1, Cheshire SMR, Sponds Hill Round Barrow (north), (1991)

Source: Historic England