Ancient Monuments

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Two bowl barrows on Aldringham Green

A Scheduled Monument in Aldringham cum Thorpe, Suffolk

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.1916 / 52°11'29"N

Longitude: 1.579 / 1°34'44"E

OS Eastings: 644711.833561

OS Northings: 260854.181061

OS Grid: TM447608

Mapcode National: GBR XQP.J11

Mapcode Global: VHM7X.B53S

Entry Name: Two bowl barrows on Aldringham Green

Scheduled Date: 24 April 1951

Last Amended: 15 September 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1011378

English Heritage Legacy ID: 21277

County: Suffolk

Civil Parish: Aldringham cum Thorpe

Traditional County: Suffolk

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Suffolk

Church of England Parish: Aldringham with Thorpe St Andrew

Church of England Diocese: St.Edmundsbury and Ipswich

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated near the edge of a south-west
facing slope overlooking the Hundred River. The larger of the two is visible
as an earthen mound encircled by a ditch and an outer bank. The mound covers
an area c.21m in diameter and stands to a height of 1.2m. The ditch, from
which earth was dug and used during construction of the barrow, but which has
become largely infilled, has a maximum width of 4m, and the bank surrounding
it measures c.5m in width and 0.3m in height. The total diameter of the barrow
is therefore c.39m. A section of the outer bank on the southern side of the
barrow has been cut away by the eroded side of an old sand pit.
The second barrow, which lies 7.5m to the south-east of the first, is visible
as a mound encircled by a ditch. The mound covers a circular area c.14m in
diameter and stands to a maximum height of 0.6m. A slight hollow in the centre
marks the site of an old excavation. The surrounding ditch is c.3m wide, and
is visible as a hollow 0.25m deep in the ground surface. The total diameter of
the barrow is c.20m.

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.

The two bowl barrows on Aldringham Green survive well. Both have undergone
some disturbance but this has been on a small scale in relation to the
monument as a whole, which retains important archaeological information.
Evidence concerning the construction of the barrows, the duration and manner
of their use, and also the local environment at that time, will be contained
in the barrow mounds, in the soils buried beneath the mounds and beneath the
bank around the western barrow, and in the fills of the surrounding ditches.
The survival of an outer bank is an unusual feature for this area. The two
barrows are part of a group of at least five barrows in the vicinity; together
these will provide information concerning the use of the area during the
Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
AM7, (1959)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England

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