Ancient Monuments

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Lamber Low bowl barrow

A Scheduled Monument in Waterhouses, Staffordshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 53.0548 / 53°3'17"N

Longitude: -1.8711 / 1°52'15"W

OS Eastings: 408738.469071

OS Northings: 350850.611075

OS Grid: SK087508

Mapcode National: GBR 36T.FSN

Mapcode Global: WHCDX.7G8Y

Entry Name: Lamber Low bowl barrow

Scheduled Date: 13 October 1992

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1009606

English Heritage Legacy ID: 13562

County: Staffordshire

Civil Parish: Waterhouses

Traditional County: Staffordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Staffordshire

Church of England Parish: Waterfall St James and St Bartholomew

Church of England Diocese: Lichfield

Details

The monument includes Lamber Low bowl barrow located on the crest of a
knife-edge ridge some 320m east of Field House Farm. It survives as a
slightly oval mound of stone and soil up to 1.2m high with maximum dimensions
of 15.5m by 13m. A tumbled drystone wall crosses the barrow on a north-north-
west/south-south-east alignment. A shallow pit 2m in diameter by 0.2m deep
lies adjacent to the wall slightly southwest of the barrow's centre and
indicates the site of an antiquarian investigation. This investigation
located a rectangular cist constructed of limestone and sandstone slabs and
measuring 0.9m by 0.6m and 0.65m deep. The cist contained a contracted adult
inhumation laid upon the bedrock. Beneath the shoulder were two flint
artefacts. Numerous small pebbles, the leg bone of a large dog and a little
charcoal were also found in the trench.
The remains of the drystone wall are excluded from the scheduling but 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 limited antiquarian investigation Lamber Low bowl barrow survives
reasonably well. This investigation located human and faunal remains and
flint artefacts, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist
within the barrow and upon the old landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnatt, J, The Peak District Barrow Survey (1989), (1989)
Bateman, , Ten Years Digging (1861), (1861), 131
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 Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)

Source: Historic England

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