Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated c.350m west of Peddars Way, on
the high ground of what was formerly Massingham Heath. The barrow is visible
as an earthen mound with a flattened top, shelving slightly to the south,
standing to a height of c.1m and covering a sub circular area with a diameter
of c.25m east-west. North-south it measures c.17.5m, the southern edge
having been truncated by the road west to Gayton. The mound is believed to be
surrounded by a ditch from which earth was dug and used in the construction of
the barrow but which has become infilled, although it will survive as a buried
feature. Worked flints, including types dated to the later Neolithic period,
have been found on the mound and on the surface of the ploughsoil surrounding
it, and are evidence for occupation of the site prior to the construction of
the barrow.

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.

Approximately 75% of the barrow 540m east of Mink Patches survives as a
visible monument, and although there are some signs that the mound may have
been modified or disturbed, it remains standing to a height of around 1m. The
mound and the fill of the buried ditch will retain archaeological
information concerning the construction of the barrow and the manner and
duration of its use. Occupation of the area prior to that period has been
demonstrated by finds of worked flints, and information relating to this
earlier activity, together with evidence for the local environment at the time
of the barrow's construction, will be preserved in soils buried beneath the
mound.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
3780: West Norfolk, Great Massingham,
Bamford, H M, (1994)

Source: Historic England