Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated 500m north east of Broadnymett
on a ridge overlooking the valley of the Venn Lake to the north and the River
Yeo to the south. It lies within an area which has a rich concentration of
ritual and funerary sites centred around the village of Bow. The area is also
characterised by the placename `Nymett' which has some significance to Celtic
sacred features.
The barrow survives as a low circular mound which has a diameter of 18m and
is 0.4m high. The ditch from which material was quarried to construct the
mound, surrounds the barrow and survives as a buried feature, which is clearly
visible on aerial photographs.
A henge with associated features and barrows lie to the north east and these
are the subject of separate schedulings.

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 plough damage, the bowl barrow 500m north east of Broadnymett survives
comparatively well and contains archaeological and environmental information
relating to the mound and its surrounding landscape. This mound forms part of
a cluster of funerary and ritual monuments situated close to the present day
village of Bow.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Griffith, F M, 'Prehistoric Society Proceedings' in Some Newly Discovered Ritual Monuments in Mid Devon, , Vol. 51, (1985), 314
Other
Griffith, F., AP/AU1 (3.7.84), (1984)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1996)

Source: Historic England