Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated immediately to the
north of the A 1305, within the grounds of the National Stud.
The barrow mound is circular in plan with a rounded profile, measuring 16.5m
in diameter and surviving to a height of approximately 0.8m. The mound is
encircled by a ditch from which the material was quarried for its
construction. This feature is now largely buried, and remains visible only as
a very slight depression, 2m in width. The mound may have suffered some
disturbance as a result of being incorporated in an avenue of beech trees
planted in the early 19th century by Napoleonic prisoners of war. It is,
however, thought to remain unexcavated, unlike many upstanding barrows in the
region which were investigated by 19th century antiquarians. The barrow forms
part of a dispersed cemetery of similar monuments of which the nearest is at
Hare Park (3km to the south west and the subject of a separate scheduling).

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 160m south west of the National Stud clubhouse is very well
preserved, in marked contrast to the majority of barrows in the region which
are generally only visible on aerial photographs. Funerary remains surviving
undisturbed within and below the mound will provide valuable insights into
early burial practices and the beliefs of the community which built the
monument. The former ground surface, buried beneath the mound, will retain
important evidence for the appearance of the landscape at the time it was
constructed.
Comparison between this monument and other nearby barrow sites will provide
important information concerning the variation and development of prehistoric
burial practices and the distribution of early settlement.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Taylor, A, 'East Anglian Archaeology' in The Barrows of Cambridgeshire, , Vol. 12, (1981), 108-120
Other
7455, (1985)
AM 107 FMW report, Patterson, H, Round Barrow SW of Heath Stud Farm, (1988)
Littlewort, P, The beech avenues near the National Stud, (1995)

Source: Historic England