Details

The monument includes, within a single area, two bowl barrows which are
located in a plantation on what was formerly heathland in the Breckland
region, 2.4km to the north of the Little Ouse River and immediately to the
west of the road between Lynford and Brandon. On the opposite side of the road
are the prehistoric flint mines known as Grimes Graves.

The barrows are visible as two earthen mounds c.28m apart, both standing to a
height of c.1m. The first mound, on the northern edge of the plantation,
covers a circular area c.29m in diameter, and the second, to the south west of
the first, an area c.28m in diameter. It is likely that both mounds are
encircled by ditches c.3m wide, from which earth was quarried and used in
their construction, and although these ditches are now completely infilled,
they will survive as buried features. The barrows were probably among seven in
the vicinity of Grimes Graves which were investigated in 1871 by Lord
Rosehill, who found evidence of cremations in them.

A modern fence which crosses the north side of the north eastern barrow is
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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.

The two barrows 560m east of Emily's Wood survive well, and although it is
probable that they were the subject of an antiquarian investigation in the
19th century, the extent of the disturbance will be small in relation to the
monument as a whole, which will retain archaeological information concerning
the construction of the barrows, the manner and duration of their use, and the
local environment at that time. Evidence for land use predating the
construction of the barrows is also likely to be preserved in soils buried
beneath the mounds. The association with Grimes Graves gives the barrows
additional interest and in this context, together with other barrows preserved
in this part of the Breckland region, they provide evidence for the study of
the general character and development of prehistoric settlement in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
'Norfolk Archaeology' in Norfolk Archaeology, , Vol. 7, (1872), 372
Other
5144: Breckland; Weeting with Broomhill,

Source: Historic England