Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the prominent upland ridge
known as Witheridge Moor. It is one of a group of four barrows which straddle
this ridge. The monument survives as a circular mound which measures 28.8m in
diameter and 0.7m high. The surrounding ditch from which material to construct
the mound was derived survives as a buried feature approximately 5m 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 225m
south east of Elworthy Cross survives comparatively well, in a prominent
location and contains archaeological and environmental evidence relating to
the monument and its surrounding landscape. This barrow is one of a group of
four which line this ridge.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS81NW3, (1984)

Source: Historic England