Details

This monument, which falls into four separate areas, includes four bowl
barrows situated on a high upland ridge overlooking the valleys of tributaries
to the Crooked Oak River, in an area known as New Moor.
The monument survives as four circular mounds of varying size, and each has a
2-3m wide surrounding quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound
was derived; in all cases unless otherwise stated, these ditches are preserved
as buried features. The group has a linear arrangement aligned approximately
east to west. An outlier to the group lies to the north east and this is the
subject of a separate scheduling.
The western mound measures 22.6m in diameter and is 0.6m high. The next mound
to the east measures 19.5m in diameter and up to 0.8m high, its outer ditch
visible to the north as a 2m wide flat area. The mound has a circular central
depression which measures 4.8m in diameter and is up to 0.4m deep. The east of
centre mound measures 18m in diameter and is 0.5m high. The eastern mound
measures 23.7m in diameter and 1.2m high and is defined on its southern side
by a ditch which measures up to 3m wide and 0.5m deep.
All the field boundaries and fences are excluded from the scheduling, 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.

The four bowl barrows 560m south east of New Moor Cross survive comparatively
well, despite reduction in their heights through cultivation and in some cases
the building of field boundaries. They will contain archaeological information
relating to the construction and use of the monument and also environmental
evidence relating to the surrounding landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS82SW14, (1983)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS82SW2, (1983)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS82SW3, (1983)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS82SW4, (1983)

Source: Historic England