Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound
encircled by a now-infilled quarry ditch. This is a large barrow, the mound
measuring some 30m in diameter and standing to a maximum height of 3m.
Indeed, it was originally even higher; partial excavation at the summit has
lowered the mound somewhat. The surrounding ditch has been enlarged on the
south side and has collected water for many years. On the remaining sides
the ditch has been infilled by soil eroded from the mound and is no longer
visible on the surface. The diameter of the mound and ditch together is 36m.
No records of who was responsible for the excavation, nor of what was found,
have yet come to light, but the trench was already partly obscured in 1923
so that a date in the 19th century for the excavation is most likely.
Two small concrete bases for garden ornaments which lie over the infilled
ditch on the northern side are excluded from the scheduling but the ground
beneath 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.

Despite the limited damage caused to the Mount Mead monument in the 19th
century by excavation, the majority of the barrow mound and the surrounding
ditch survive intact. The barrow therefore retains significant potential for
the recovery of evidence of the nature and date of its use and of the
environment in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Darvill, T, Monument Class Description - Bowl barrows, 1988,
TQ 65 NW,

Source: Historic England