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Bowl barrow on Wetton Hill 650m north-west of Under Wetton

A Scheduled Monument in Alstonefield, Staffordshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 53.1064 / 53°6'23"N

Longitude: -1.8328 / 1°49'57"W

OS Eastings: 411292.4416

OS Northings: 356594.81307

OS Grid: SK112565

Mapcode National: GBR 368.CFG

Mapcode Global: WHCDQ.T5FW

Entry Name: Bowl barrow on Wetton Hill 650m north-west of Under Wetton

Scheduled Date: 21 January 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1008719

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22430

County: Staffordshire

Civil Parish: Alstonefield

Traditional County: Staffordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Staffordshire

Church of England Parish: Wetton St Margaret

Church of England Diocese: Lichfield

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located at the south-eastern end of the
eastern summit crest of Wetton Hill 650m north-west of Under Wetton. It
survives as an oval earth and stone mound up to 0.9m high with maximum
dimensions of 12m by 11m. Limited antiquarian investigation in 1845 located a
rock-cut grave lined with thin flat limestones containing a contracted
inhumation together with animal bones and flint artefacts. Further limited
investigation four years later located a second contracted inhumation together
with a flint artefact. Adjacent was a stone cist containing a third
inhumation, a food vessel, flint artefacts and an antler tine.

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 antiquarian investigations the bowl barrow on Wetton Hill 650m
north-west of Under Wetton survives well. These investigations located human
and faunal remains together with pottery and flint artefacts. Further
evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon
the old landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, T, Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, (1849)
Bateman, , Ten Years Digging (1861), (1861)
Other
Bateman, Desc & Obs Further Discoveries in the Barrows of Derbyshire,
Bateman, Illustrations of Antiquity (Unpub volume of drawings), Sheffield City Museum
Carrington, Barrow Diggers (Unpub MS with letters and notes), 1848,
Darvill, T, MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), (1988)

Source: Historic England

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