Details

The monument, a linear bowl barrow cemetery known as Twelve Barrows, includes
the above ground and buried remains of 12 Bronze Age bowl barrows situated
300m east of Higher Hendra, Perranzabuloe. The barrows occupy a position on
the ridge of a north west facing spur and all 12 are set in a line aligned
from north west to south east along the ridge over a distance of about 250m.
The barrows lie at intervals varying between 18m and 32m from one another and
they survive as a combination of earthworks and buried remains recorded over
the years by way of ground survey and aerial photography. Of the 12 barrow
mounds, six are visible above ground; the most extant mound lies near the
south eastern end of the group. This barrow retains a height of 2.2m and has a
diameter of 16m. Another four barrows occupying positions in the centre of the
linear group are visible as low mounds varying between 0.15m and 0.25m in
height and having diameters of between 12m and 13m. These four barrows are
shown on an aerial photograph to share the same characteristics, these being a
quarry ditch surrounding each mound with a connecting ditch on the northern
side joining the two quarry ditches of each pair. They flank, with a pair
either side, a further single barrow, known from an aerial photograph by its
circular quarry ditch. The most north westerly barrow of the linear group
survives as a low mound 0.15m high, part of which has been removed by a track
on its northern side. Three barrows are recorded as low mounds by a
combination of Ordnance Survey mapping and more recent survey; these are on
the same alignment as the extant barrows of the cemetery group and are on the
north west end of the line. A further two barrows at the extreme south east
end of the line are recorded on OS maps and in recent surveys as very low
mounds.
These complete the 12 barrows as currently known; others in the same group are
thought to exist but await confirmation.
Excluded from the scheduling is all fencing, 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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The linear bowl barrow cemetery east of Higher Hendra has been the subject of
an aerial survey which shows it to be well defined and to possess a great
diversity of features either visible at ground level or buried beneath the
ground surface. It will contain archaeological and environmental information
about the cemetery and the landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Henderson, C, Parochial Antiquities, (1915)
Henderson, C, Parochial Antiquities, (1915), 192-3
Warner, R, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Parish of Perranzabuloe, , Vol. 2, (1963), 67
Other
Johnson, N, Notebook of special sites visited, (1980)
SW 7955/1 64/3/31a, RCHM, (1964)
SW 7955/1 64/3/31a, RCHM, Barrows north east of Little Hendra, (1980)
Title: Ordnance Survey
Source Date: 1906
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England