Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows, ranged in an east-west line and
situated on a prominent knoll overlooking High Field, to the north, and Croome
Dale, to the west. Numerous other burial mounds, of the Neolithic and Early
Bronze Age periods, are known in the vicinity and the barrows near Belle Vue
Farm also lie 800m north of a later prehistoric boundary earthwork in
Collingwood Plantation.
Although altered by agricultural activity, the barrows are still visible as
mounds of chalk, clearly distinguishable from the surrounding natural soil
which is relatively chalk-free. Over the years these mounds have spread to
cover the ditches which originally encircled them and from which material for
their construction was quarried; although no longer visible as earthworks the
ditches have been identified on aerial photographs. The mound material has
also been spread into the spaces between the barrows. The westernmost barrow
mound, 0.3m high and 21m in diameter, covers a ditch 10m in diameter. The
middle barrow lies 35m to the east; its mound is 0.5m high by 18m in diameter
and overies a 10m diameter ditch. Thirty metres east of this barrow, the
easternmost barrow lies adjacent to the farm track; this has a mound which is
only slightly elevated. It is 25m in diameter with a 12m diameter ditch. Bowl
barrows on the Yorkshire Wolds commonly contain burials placed in burial pits,
up to 2m in depth, cut into the old ground surface beneath the mound. As there
is no evidence that the barrows west of Belle Vue Farm have ever been
excavated, the remaining structure of the mounds, the infilled ditches and
burial pits will survive intact.
Any metalling on the surface of the farm track is excluded from the
scheduling, although 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.

Although these barrows have been partially altered by agricultural activity,
their chalk mounds are clearly visible and below ground remains, including the
encircling ditches and the contents of grave pits, will survive intact.

The Yorkshire Wolds are particularly rich in certain types of prehistoric
remains, including barrows and extensive boundary earthworks. Because they
exhibit close topographical associations, these monuments offer important
scope for the study of the division of land for social, ritual and
agricultural purposes in different geographical areas during the prehistoric
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Stoertz, C, (1992)

Source: Historic England