Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the eastern side of a north
east-south west ridge towards the western side of the Breckland region and the
fen edge. The barrow is visible as a small earthen mound standing to a height
of c.0.7m and covering a circular area c.8m in diameter. It is thought that
the mound is encircled by a ditch c.3m wide which has become infilled and is
no longer visible, although it will survive as a buried feature.

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 small bowl barrow 650m west of Pilgrims' Walk survives well and is not
known to have suffered any damage other than some superficial disturbance
caused by forestry cultivation. The mound and deposits beneath it and in the
fill of the ditch will retain archaeological information concerning the
construction of the barrow, the manner and duration of its use and the local
environment at that time. Evidence of earlier land use is also likely to be
preserved in soils buried beneath the mound. The monument is one of a group of
five barrows in a north east-south west alignment, the nearest being c.85m to
the north east. As a group these have additional interest in relation to the
prehistoric flint mines which lie c.4km to the south east, and, together with
other barrows preserved in this part of the Breckland region will provide
evidence for the study of the general character and development of prehistoric
settlement in the area.

Source: Historic England