Details

The Farway Hill barrows are situated in south east Devon on the high ground
of an extensive Greensand plateau in an area some 8km south of Honiton where
it forms the watershed of the River Sid. These funerary monuments are grouped
around Farway Castle, a substantial circular earthwork enclosure which is
believed to be contemporary.
The monument includes four of ten bowl barrows which together make up the
Farway Hill round barrow cemetery. They are aligned north/south and are
situated on the crest of a ridge to the immediate south east of Farway Castle.
The B3174 road runs between the middle two barrows in this group. A forestry
track runs between the two northern barrows.
At the southern end is a bowl barrow 15m in diameter and 0.9m in height,
with an even rounded profile.
On the south side of the road is a bowl barrow with an original diameter of
about 15m and height of 0.8m. A track leads from the road into the woodland to
the immediate west of this barrow.
On the north side of the road is a bowl barrow with an original diameter of
about 15m and height of 1m. There is an intrusion in the north west sector of
the mound, possibly representing an antiquarian excavation.
At the northern end is a bowl barrow 18m in diameter and 1m in height, with
an even rounded profile. There is no evidence of a ditch at any of the four
barrows.
Excluded from the scheduling are the made up road surface and all fence
posts, but the ground beneath them 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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The Farway Hill barrows, a number of which form the barrow cemetery,
comprise the central section of the most extensive and densest concentration
of barrows in Devon. Their association with Farway Castle adds additional
depth to this relict ritual landscape. Limited archaeological excavations of
some of the barrows have revealed that they have a remarkable diversity in
size and form, and in the nature of their funerary contents.
These four barrows form an integral part of the barrow cemetery. Two of the
barrows survive in good condition, and although the other two have been
partially disturbed by road construction, and one by partial excavation, a
significant proportion of their buried features remain intact, including the
old land surface which will contain evidence of the past environment.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Fox, A, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, , Vol. 4, (1948), 1-19
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Hutchinson, , 'Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association' in Report on Barrows near Sidmouth, (1880)
Hutchinson, , 'Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association' in Report on Barrows near Sidmouth, (1880)
Simpson, S, Noble, S, 'Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report' in Archaeological Survey & Management Study of Areas of E Devon, , Vol. 93.38, (1993)

Source: Historic England