Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on the western side of
Skew Plantation, 530m north east of Castle Barn Cottages in the parish of
Sarsden.
The barrow lies on a slight ridge which runs from south to north.
The barrow mound survives as a large upstanding earthwork 35m in diameter and
up to 1.5m high. The western side of the barrow has been reduced by
cultivation to c.0.3m high and this gives the mound the appearance of an oval
rather than a circle. Originally surrounding the mound but now only visible at
ground level on the northern and eastern sides, was a quarry ditch c.2m wide
and c.0.6m deep. This has become largely infilled over the years due to
cultivation and the accumulation of leaf litter. However, it survives buried
below the modern ground level around the entire circuit of the barrow.
There are two further bowl barrows, one c.800m to the north west and the other
a similar distance to the south. These are the subject of separate
schedulings.
Excluded from the scheduling is the post and wire fence which runs across the
western side of the barrow, although the land beneath 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.

Despite part reduction by cultivation, the bowl barrow on the edge of Skew
Plantation survives as a substantial earthwork and will contain archaeological
remains and environmental evidence relating to its construction and the
landscape in which it was built. This is one of three isolated round barrows
in the vicinity.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Series
Source Date: 1980
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
SP 32 SW

Source: Historic England