Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on the crest of a hill to the west
of and overlooking the A11. The barrow is visible as an earthen mound, which
stands to a height of approximately 1.8m and covers a roughly circular area
measuring approximately 24m north-south by 21m east-west. The monument
represents the only survivor of a line of four barrows, two to the east and
two to the west of the main road. In 1923 the barrow was excavated by Earl
Cawdor and C Fox. It was found to be constructed of sand with a later clay
capping. No evidence was recorded for a primary burial beneath the mound, but
secondary burials in the form of three contracted inhumations and 11
cremations were excavated from the clay layer. Eight of the cremation burials
were accompanied by grave goods which included bone and bronze pins, a bone
necklace, various flint implements and four pottery vessels.

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 on Chalk Hill, 380m north west of Chalkhill Cottages is a well
known landmark and is the only visible survivor of an immediate cluster of
four barrows. It is also thought to represent one of the barrows which make up
a much larger group, the Chippenham barrow group which extends into
Cambridgeshire. Although much of the mound and secondary burials have been
removed by excavation the primary burial has been undisturbed. It is therefore
likely that features and archaeological deposits contemporary with or
predating the barrow, together with evidence for the local environment prior
to the construction and during the use of the barrow will be preserved buried
in the soils beneath the mound.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Fox, C, Archaeology of the Cambridge Region, (1923), 31
Cawdor, E, Fox, C, 'Quarterly Journal of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology' in The Beacon Hill Barrow, Barton Mills, Suffolk, , Vol. 26, (1923), 19-60
Gedge, J G, 'Quarterly Journal of Suffolk Institute of Archaeology' in Examination of Suffolk Tumuli: Barton Hill, (1869), 20-21

Source: Historic England