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Latitude: 52.8253 / 52°49'31"N
Longitude: 0.6156 / 0°36'56"E
OS Eastings: 576323.502923
OS Northings: 328515.449908
OS Grid: TF763285
Mapcode National: GBR Q5Q.SK8
Mapcode Global: WHKQ2.F7CW
Entry Name: Bowl barrow on Bunker's Hill, 1200m north east of Crow Hall
Scheduled Date: 25 January 1995
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1010557
English Heritage Legacy ID: 21342
County: Norfolk
Civil Parish: Bircham
Traditional County: Norfolk
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Norfolk
Church of England Parish: The Birchams and Bagthorpe
Church of England Diocese: Norwich
The monument includes a bowl barrow which is one of a dispersed group of round
barrows, sited on a broad ridge at the western edge of the Good Sands upland
region of north west Norfolk. The barrow stands on the southern edge of the
hill crest, above a slight, south facing slope, and is visible as an earthen
mound c.1.5m in height and covering a circular area c.30m in diameter. It is
thought that the mound is encircled by a ditch from which earth was dug
during the construction of the barrow. This ditch has become infilled and is
no longer visible, but will survive as a buried feature.
The barrow group as a whole is aligned on a north west-south east axis over
a distance of c.2.6km.
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
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 bowl barrow 1200m north east of Crow Hall is part of one of the principal
barrow groups surviving in north west Norfolk, and retains archaeological
information which has additional interest in this context. It survives well,
and evidence for the manner and duration of its use, and for the local
environment at that time, will be contained in the mound and in the soils
buried beneath the mound. The barrow group as a whole is of wider importance
for the study of the character and development of the prehistoric population
of the area.
Source: Historic England
Books and journals
Lawson, A, 'East Anglian Archaeology' in , , Vol. 2, (1976), 49-62
Other
MS notebook in Guernsey Museum, Lukis, FC, (1843)
Source: Historic England
Other nearby scheduled monuments