Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 1km west of Tan Hill

A Scheduled Monument in All Cannings, Wiltshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.3831 / 51°22'59"N

Longitude: -1.8883 / 1°53'18"W

OS Eastings: 407865.770645

OS Northings: 164900.543515

OS Grid: SU078649

Mapcode National: GBR 3W3.9D7

Mapcode Global: VHB4B.7H2K

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 1km west of Tan Hill

Scheduled Date: 3 January 1957

Last Amended: 18 January 1991

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1013044

English Heritage Legacy ID: 12176

County: Wiltshire

Civil Parish: All Cannings

Traditional County: Wiltshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Wiltshire

Church of England Parish: All Cannings All Saints

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set on a local south-facing
promontary but below the main crest of the Allington Down escarpment.
The barrow mound stands 1m high and has a diameter of 12m. Although
not visible at ground level, a ditch c.3m wide from which mound
material was quarried, survives as a buried feature surrounding the
mound. A shallow depression on the centre of the mound suggests the
site has been partially excavated, probably in the 19th century,
although no details are known.

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 possible partial excavation and some erosion, much of the bowl barrow
west of Tan Hill remains intact and has significant 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 importance of the monument.

Source: Historic England

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