Details

The monument includes two contiguous bowl barrows, situated in a belt of
wooded heathland to the west of Dobbs Lane. Each of the barrows is visible as
an earthen mound covering an area c.12m in diameter. The mounds stand to
heights of 1m and 0.8m respectively and the combined length of the two along a
north east - south west axis is approximately 24m. A poorly defined hollow in
the surface of the north eastern mound marks the site of a trench
approximately 1.5m wide, dug since 1921 when the earliest description of the
barrow was published. The barrows are the only two which survive of a closely
spaced group of six, the other four of which were excavated in 1919. One of
those four, a mound approximately 6m in diameter, contained an Anglo-Saxon
cremation burial but the other three were of Bronze Age date.

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.

The two bowl barrows 312m south west of Dobbs Corner survive relatively well;
although a trench has been dug into one of the mounds, the scale of this
disturbance is limited in relation to the earthwork as a whole. Evidence
concerning the construction of the barrows, the relationship between them and
the manner and duration of their use, as well as of the local environment, at
the time of and prior to their construction, will be contained in the mounds
and in the soils preserved beneath them. The two barrows are situated within
what was once a small cemetery, including four others which are documented as
a result of excavation. The cemetery, in turn, formed part of a much larger
group of barrows, others of which survive as visible monuments in the parishes
of Brightwell, Foxhall and Martlesham and Waldringfield; together these will
provide evidence of the nature and extent of Bronze Age activities in the
area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Reid Moir, J, 'J Ipswich Field Club' in The Excavation of Two Tumuli on Brightwell Heath, Suffolk, , Vol. 6, (1921), 1-14
Other
Coad, V J, AM7 (1978), (1978)

Source: Historic England