Details

The monument includes the remains of two small bowl barrows situated on the
level plain between the River Teme to the south-west and River Corve to the
north-east. The northernmost barrow is visible as a well defined sandy mound
12m north to south by 11m transversely standing up to 1.5m high. The barrow is
believed to have been partially excavated in 1884, revealing evidence of a
cremation burial and a small piece of bronze. Although no longer visible as a
surface feature, a ditch, from which material was quarried during the
construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled
over the years but survives as a buried feature approximately 1m wide.
The second barrow lies some 23m to the south and comprises a low earthen
mound 7m in diameter and up to 0.5m high. This barrow is also believed to have
been partially excavated in 1884, though no finds are recorded from it.
Similarly it shows no surface indication of a surrounding quarry ditch though
one will survive as a buried feature approximately 1m wide.
The modern fence in the southern part of the site is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath 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 some disturbance and partial excavation the two barrows on Old Field
600m ESE of the golf course club house remain clearly defined as surface
features and are good examples of their class. The northern barrow is the
better preserved of the two, though both will retain archaeological deposits
and environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which they were
constructed sealed beneath the mounds and in the ditch fills. Several other
monuments of similar type and age occur in this vicinity and considered in
association they provide information relating to the land use, density of
settlement and the burial practices and social structure of the prehistoric
community occupying this area during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Fortey, C, 'TSAS' in , , Vol. VIII, (1885), 445-9

Source: Historic England