Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, situated on former heathland, 1800m west
of the Deben estuary. The barrow is visible as a low mound, marked also by a
light coloured, sandy patch in the ploughsoil, and the mound is encircled by a
buried ditch. The mound was originally approximately 14m in diameter, but has
been spread by ploughing to a diameter of approximately 25m and reduced to a
height of approximately 0.25m. The surrounding ditch, from which earth was
dug and used during construction of the barrow, has become filled in, but
evidence that it exists as a buried feature beneath the ploughsoil has been
recorded by means of aerial photography.

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.

Although the barrow on Waldringfield Heath has been reduced by ploughing,
evidence of the date and manner of its use, and also of the local environment,
at and prior to the time of its construction and use, will be preserved in the
mound, in the soils beneath the base of the mound and in the fill of the
buried ditch. The monument is one of a large group of barrows recorded in the
area, others of which survive as visible earthworks in the neighbouring
parishes of Brightwell, Foxhall and Martlesham; together these will provide
evidence of the nature and extent of Bronze Age activity in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Robertson-Mackay, R, AM7, (1959)
Suffolk SMR ADH19,

Source: Historic England