Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on a ridge within the western part
of Hartshill Hayes Country Park and 580m east of Moor Wood Farm. The earth
mound stands to a height of 2.1m and is approximately 20m in diameter.
Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This
has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature,
approximately 3m wide, and is included in the scheduling.
The barrow was partly excavated in 1835 when it was recorded as standing to a
height of 4.5m and a variety of archaeological remains were located within the
mound, including three Bronze Age burials. These were associated with a small
cist of loose stones approximately 2m beneath the top of the mound within
which were two large urns, placed rim downwards, and both containing burnt
fragments. Two smaller vessels or drinking cups and a small bronze dagger or
knife were associated with these remains. A further up-turned Bronze Age urn
laid over burnt bone fragments, together with a drinking cup, was located
approximately 0.6m below these two burials. An intrusive Anglo-Saxon burial
was also located within the upper, eastern levels of the mound and included
several bone fragments, an iron spearhead and a corroded shield boss.
The fence posts and the surface of the road in the south western part of the
monument are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these
features 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.

The bowl barrow within Hartshill Hayes Country Park survives well and limited
antiquarian investigation of the mound has indicated that valuable evidence
relating both to the construction and use of the barrow survives within the
mound. It is also known to retain rare evidence for the reuse of the barrow
during the Anglo-Saxon period. The deposits within the infilled ditch will
preserve evidence for the environment in which the monument was built and for
environmental changes occurring during its use.
The site is included within a public amenity area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Thomas, N, 'Transaction of the Warwickshire Archaeological Society' in An Archaeological Gazeteer for Warwickshire, (1974), 31
Thomas, N, 'Transaction of the Warwickshire Archaeological Society' in An Archaeological Gazeteer for Warwickshire, (1974), 31

Source: Historic England