Details

The monument includes a group of four bowl barrows situated in a line,
oriented north east-south west, on the edge of a spur on Foxbury Hill,
Barnsfield Heath, with commanding views to the south and west. Three of the
barrows have a visible mound, which varies in diameter between 8.5m and 16m,
and from 0.8m to 1.5m high. Each of these mounds is surrounded by a quarry
ditch from which material was excavated during their construction. These have
become infilled over the years but survive as buried features approximately 2m
wide. A fourth barrow, 20m north east, previously recorded as being 6.4m in
diameter and 0.15m high, is no longer visible on the surface but will survive
as a buried feature with a ditch approximately 1m wide.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath
these features 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.

Three of the four bowl barrows on Foxbury Hill, Barnsfield Heath, 750m south
west of Matcham's Park stadium, are well preserved examples of their class.
All four will contain archaeological remains providing information about
Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England