Details

This monument includes three bowl barrows situated on a ridge overlooking the
valley which marks the source of the River Dart.
The barrows survive as circular mounds in a linear arrangement, aligned east
to west. The barrows all have 2m wide surrounding quarry ditches from which
material to construct the mounds was derived; for each barrow these are
preserved as buried features. The ditches of the western and central barrows
merge together; the eastern barrow is set a little further apart. The western
mound measures 27.4m in diameter and is 1m high, the central barrow measures
27.1m in diameter and 0.5m high; and the eastern mound measures 23m in
diameter and 0.8m high.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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 three bowl barrows 250m south east of Gibbet Moor Cross survive
comparatively well, despite reduction in their heights through cultivation,
and will contain archaeological information relating to the construction and
use of the monument and also environmental evidence concerning the surrounding
landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS81NE3, (1982)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS81NE4, (1982)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS81NE5, (1982)

Source: Historic England