Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on a low hill in the King's
Forest, 1.3km north east of Wideham Barn. The barrow is visible as an earthen
mound which stands to a height of about 1.2m and covers a roughly circular
area with a maximum diameter of about 32m. It is thought that the mound is
encircled by a ditch with an estimated width of 3m from which earth was
quarried during the construction of the barrow. Although this has now become
completely infilled and is no longer visible, it will survive as a buried
feature.

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 in the King's Forest, 1.3km north east of Wideham Barn
survives well and will retain archaeological information concerning its
construction and the manner and duration of its use. Evidence for the local
environment prior to and during that time will also be preserved in soils
buried beneath the mound and in the fills of the buried ditch. The proximity
of this barrow to a number of other barrows in this part of the Breckland
region give it additional interest. Together these barrows give some evidence
of the character, development and density of the prehistoric population in
this area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: West Stow Tithe Map
Source Date: 1840
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
SRO(B) T134/2

Source: Historic England