Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a bowl barrow,
situated at the top of a natural knoll on the lower slopes of an east facing
scarp, overlooking the Clun Valley. The knoll rises steeply on the west and
more gently on the east side, where it blends in with the general slope of the
land. The barrow itself includes an earthen mound which has been created by
artificially steepening the sides of the knoll. The resulting change in
profile of the slope is visible c.3m-4m below the summit, and the mound itself
is roughly circular in plan, with a diameter of 30m. Additional material for
the construction of the mound will have been obtained from a surrounding
quarry ditch, which is no longer visible at the surface. However, this feature
was recorded in 1970 as a shallow depression up to 3m wide, and can be seen as
a distinct crop mark on aerial photographs taken in 1989.
The monument is one of several bowl barrows in the Clun Valley, at least two
of which were developed during the medieval period as motte castles. All these
monuments are scheduled separately, the closest being the motte at Buckton,
some 3.6km to the south east, SM 27489.

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 north west of Hollybrook is a well preserved example of this
class of monument. The barrow mound will retain evidence for its method of
construction, including internal revetments, as well as for the burial or
burials within it, enhancing our understanding of both the technology and
social organisation of its builders. The accumulated ditch fills will preserve
environmental evidence for activities which took place at the site, during
both the construction of the barrow and its subsequent use. The buried ground
surface beneath the mound itself will preserve evidence for the prehistoric
landscape in which the barrow was built. In its elevated position on a natural
knoll the monument would have been a clearly visible landmark for the Bronze
Age population of the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Shropshire: Volume I, (1908), 385
Cross, P, 'Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club' in Aspects of Glacial Geomorphology of Wigmore and Presteigne district, , Vol. 39(2), (1966), 198-220
Other
AP CPAT 89/MB/566, 567, 568, (1989)
DOE, Buildings of Special Hist & Arch Interest,
Richardson, R E, FMW report form, (1981)
SO 37 NE 39, Ordnance Survey, SO 37 NE 39, (1973)

Source: Historic England