Details

The monument includes of a bowl barrow just below the crest of a south-facing
hill. The visible portion of the barrow mound has been eroded by ploughing,
but survives as an elliptical mound measuring a maximum of 20m north-south by
3m east-west and standing to a height of 0.4m. The barrow mound was, however,
originally circular with a reported diameter of 20m. The barrow is surrounded
by a ditch which has been infilled over the years and can no longer be seen at
ground level. It will, however, survive as a buried feature approximately 3m
wide.
The dry stone wall which runs north-south across the 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.

Although the mound of the barrow 750m north east of Eastleachdowns Farm has
been reduced by ploughing, the central area of the monument has been preserved
through its incorporation into a field boundary. The remaining portion of the
mound will contain evidence for primary and possibly secondary burials, along
with grave goods, which will provide information about the nature of
prehistoric burial rituals. It will also have preserved part of the original
ground surface, predating the construction of the barrow. The surviving
portion of the mound along with its surrounding ditch will also contain
environmental evidence in the form of organic remains, which will relate both
to the barrow and the landscape within which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, 'Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc' in Gloucestershire Barrows, , Vol. LXXIX, (1960), 113

Source: Historic England