Details

The monument includes a bell barrow of Bronze Age date situated 520m west of
Pendown. The barrow is situated on a gentle north west facing spur about 900m
north west of the barrow group at Four Burrows. The barrows at Four Burrows
are situated on top of a hill and overlook the barrow west of Pendown.
Earlier descriptions of the barrow make it clear that it had a berm - or
level platform - around the central mound and was ditched. Due to ploughing
these features can no longer be recognised and the monument appears now as a
mound with a rounded profile, 2m high with a diameter of 34m.

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

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary
monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples
belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds
covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The
burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery
and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows
(particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known
examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early
prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a
particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would
normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite having been ploughed, the barrow west of Pendown will retain buried
characteristics of its construction and original features containing
archaeological information about the period and landscape in which
it was constructed. This is one of comparatively few bell barrows known in
Cornwall.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Warner, R, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Parish of Perranzabuloe, , Vol. 2, (1963), 68
Other
Thomas, R, Letter to the West Briton, (1851)

Source: Historic England