Details

The monument is a bowl barrow surviving as an earthen mound, 42m in diameter
and 1m high, in a ploughed arable field. There is no visible or recorded
evidence that it has ever been excavated. The barrow is one of a line of four
well-spaced barrows sited on a low broad ridge overlooking a shallow valley at
the centre of the area covered by the Upton Pyne barrow group. This group
comprises over thirty recorded barrows dispersed about a low-lying alluvial
basin north of the confluences of the River Exe with the Rivers Culm and
Creedy. Within the overall group, barrows occur both as isolated examples and
forming localised clusters. Grave goods and a radiocarbon date derived from
the few partly-excavated barrows in the group indicate burials during the
early and middle Bronze Ages (around 2000 - 1000 BC). All of the upstanding
barrows in the group present the appearance of unditched bowl barrows, the
absence of ditches being supported by air photography and confirmed for all
examples that have been excavated.

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.

This bowl barrow has survived without any known previous archaeological
disturbance, and forms one of the largest barrows in the Upton Pyne barrow
group, whose unusual low-lying position, good overall preservation, and
quality of dating, constructional and artefactual information have all
resulted in its frequent mention in national reviews of Bronze Age funerary
monuments.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Todd, M, The South-West to A.D. 1000, (1987), 148-150
Other
AM7 entry for DV 318b,
Devon SMR entries for SX 99 NW-119 and -120,
Devon SMR entry for SX 99 NW-002,
Devon SMR entry for SX 99 NW-021, -026, -027 and -052,
Fox, A., South-West England, (1964)

Source: Historic England