Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a north facing
slope overlooking the upper reaches of the Umborne Brook. The barrow, which
appears to be an isolated example, is located south of Widworthy Barton in an
area of old marlpits. It has a mound 1.5m high and 14m across. The mound is
surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during its
construction. This is 2.1m wide and 0.3m deep, having been partially infilled
over the years.

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 south of Widworthy Barton survives well and will contain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the
landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 45

Source: Historic England