Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set below the crest of a gentle north-
facing slope in an area of undulating chalk downland. The barrow mound stands
to a height of 1m and is 12m in diameter. It has a wide flattened top with
short, steep sides especially to the north and east. Although no longer
visible at ground level, the barrow mound is surrounded by a ditch from which
material was quarried during its construction. This has been infilled over
the years but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide.

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 bowl barrow south-east of Tanhill Penning survives well and has
considerable archaeological potential. The presence of numerous other barrows
and additional evidence for contemporary settlement in the area of Bishop's
Cannings Down provide a clear indication of the intensity with which the area
was settled during the Bronze Age, further enhancing the significance of the
monument.

Source: Historic England