Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a prominent upland ridge
known as Witheridge Moor. It is the easternmost of a group of four barrows
which straddle this ridge. The monument survives as a circular mound which
measures 37m in diameter and is 1.8m high. The surrounding ditch from which
material to construct the mound was derived survives as a buried feature,
approximately 5m wide. An excavation trench crosses the centre of the mound in
a east to west direction and measures 4m wide and 0.7m deep. Within this
trench a further more recent square trench has been excavated which cuts down
a further 0.6m and is approximately 1.5m square. The mound also has fairly
pronounced ridges running across it in a north to south direction, which
measure approximately 0.1m high. The post and wire fence surrounding the
barrow is excluded from the monument, although the ground beneath 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.

Despite partial excavation and limited recent interference, the bowl barrow
300m north west of Witheridge Moor Cross (west) 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
four which line this ridge.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS81NE7, (1987)

Source: Historic England