Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 240m north-west of Rainroach Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Alton, Staffordshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.9834 / 52°59'0"N

Longitude: -1.9111 / 1°54'40"W

OS Eastings: 406063.528438

OS Northings: 342897.720486

OS Grid: SK060428

Mapcode National: GBR 37J.X8S

Mapcode Global: WHBD4.M84P

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 240m north-west of Rainroach Farm

Scheduled Date: 20 January 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1012540

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22422

County: Staffordshire

Civil Parish: Alton

Traditional County: Staffordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Staffordshire

Church of England Parish: Alton St Peter

Church of England Diocese: Lichfield

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on a hilltop 240m north-west of
Rainroach Farm. It survives as an oval earth and stone mound up to 1.5m high
with maximum dimensions of 22m by 18.5m. The monument is not known to 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.

The barrow is a rare survival in Staffordshire of an unexcavated example of
this class of monument. It will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits
within the mound and upon the old landsurface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Gunstone, A J H, 'North Staffs JFS' in An Archaeological Gazeteer of Staffs Pt 2, , Vol. 5, (1965)
Other
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Description - Bowl Barrows, (1988)
SMR No. 271, Staffs SMR, Round Mound,

Source: Historic England

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