Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 580m north west of Gorvin

A Scheduled Monument in Hartland, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.9559 / 50°57'21"N

Longitude: -4.4396 / 4°26'22"W

OS Eastings: 228756.43007

OS Northings: 120219.508

OS Grid: SS287202

Mapcode National: GBR K6.N54T

Mapcode Global: FRA 16LL.28M

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 580m north west of Gorvin

Scheduled Date: 7 July 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1016648

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32206

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Hartland

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Welcombe St Nectan

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated in an elevated upland location
on a natural rise overlooking the valley of Seckington Water, and forms part
of a group of barrows recorded in the area. The barrow survives as a slightly
oval mound which measures 26.1m long from east to west, 24.2m wide from north
to south and is 0.6m high. The surrounding ditch from which material to
construct the mound was derived survives as a buried feature, approximately 4m
wide.

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 reduction in its height through cultivation, the bowl barrow 580m
north west of Gorvin survives comparatively well and contains archaeological
and environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding
landscape. This barrow forms part of a dispersed group.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS22SE28, (1982)

Source: Historic England

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