Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow on a west facing slope on Wancombe Hill
380m south west of southern corner of Sherriffs Wood.
The barrow has a flat topped mound, c.18m in diameter and a maximum of 1.5m
high, the surface of which is covered in flint. There is no visible sign of a
quarry ditch surrounding the mound but this will survive as a buried feature
2m wide.
The barrow lies between two steep field lynchets which are undated and not
included in the 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 on Wancombe Hill, 380m south west of southern corner of
Sherriffs Wood is a well preserved example of its class and will contain
archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial
practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England