Details

This monument includes an oval ring ditch, representing a levelled bowl
barrow, 150m north of Natson Farm, Bow and 200m south of the River Yeo on a
spur of land in a low lying field. The monument is one of a complex of ritual
and funerary monuments which are concentrated around the village of Bow. The
area is also associated with the placename `Nymett' which is thought to have
sacred Celtic significance.
The ring ditch represents the ditch of a bowl barrow and survives as a buried
feature clearly indicated on aerial photographs. It is oval in shape and
measures 20m long north west to south east and 12m wide south west to north
east.
Many of the other funerary and ritual monuments in the area 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 ring ditch 150m north of Natson Farm survives
comparatively well and contains archaeological and environmental information
relating to the barrow and its surrounding landscape. This ring ditch 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
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS70SW118, (1991)

Source: Historic England