Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a Bronze Age bowl
barrow situated near the top of a rise with the ground gently sloping to the
north and east. From this location there are extensive views of the
surrounding countryside, especially the Stiperstones and the Betchcott Hills.
The barrow mound is about 21m in diameter and survives to a height of 1.3m. It
is of earth and stone construction, and embedded stones are visible in the top
of the mound. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which
material was quarried during the construction of the barrow, surrounds the
mound. This has become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried
feature approximately 3m 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.

The bowl barrow 640m north west of Lower Darnford is a well-preserved example
of this class of monument. The barrow mound will retain evidence for its
method of construction as well as the burial or burials within it. These
remains will advance our understanding of Bronze Age society, including the
ritual practices and technical abilities of the barrow's builders. The
accumulated ditch fills will preserve environmental evidence for the
activities which took place at the site during the construction of the barrow,
and its subsequent use. In addition, the buried ground surface beneath the
mound will preserve evidence for the prehistoric landscape in which the barrow
was built. The prominent position of the monument makes it a clearly visible
landmark.

Source: Historic England