Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated on Riddlecombe Moor in a
prominent location on the watershed between the River Torridge to the west and
the River Taw to the east. The barrow survives as a circular flat topped mound
with a 20.4m diameter and stands up to 0.8m high. A slight hollow towards the
western side of the mound may represent an early part excavation or robbing.
The ditch from which the mound material was derived surrounds the barrow and
is preserved as a buried feature c.3.4m wide.
Another barrow situated 113m to the south east is the subject of a separate
scheduling (SM 28606).

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 the possibility of part excavation, the bowl barrow 325m north west of
Winkleigh Moor Cross survives comparatively well and contains archaeological
and environmental information relating to the barrow and its surrounding
landscape. This barrow forms part of a group lying on the watershed between
the Rivers Taw and Torridge.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS51SE30, (1984)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1995)

Source: Historic England