Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, known as Bull Barrow, 270m south of
Crooked Withies Farm, situated in a prominent position on top of a hill. The
barrow has a mound 16m in diameter and 1.3m high, surrounded by a quarry
ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived. This is visible
on the surface as a depression 2m wide on the northern and southern sides of
the mound and elsewhere survives as a buried feature. The mound is flat
topped and may have been dug in the past. Flint knapping debris and two flint
scrapers were recovered from mound erosion debris.

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.

Bull Barrow on Holt Heath is a well preserved example of its class of monument
and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age
beliefs, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England