Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial
mound 390m south east of Lower Row Mires. The mound is approximately 9m in
diameter and rises to 0.8m high. Its surface is mainly of earth, but also
contains a scatter of stones typically 20cm-30cm across. There is no central
depression or other evidence of disturbance by antiquarians. However, there is
some superficial damage by shallow plough furrows across the mound related to
forestry plantation. The round barrow is located on a hill spur between
Priest's Sike Slack and Hartoft Beck and commands a good view southwards down
the valley. Such positions are considered to have often formed the dual
purpose of acting as a boundary marker in the Bronze Age between two areas of
land.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 3 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 round barrow 390m south east of Low Mires is a good example of a small
Bronze Age burial mound. The monument is especially important as it appears
to have been undisturbed by antiquarian digging. Excavation of round barrows
in the region have shown that they demonstrate a wide range of burial rites
from simple scatters of cremated material to coffin inhumations and cremations
contained in urns, typically dating to the Bronze Age. A common factor is that
barrows were normally used for more than one burial and that the primary
burial was frequently on or below the original ground surface, often with
secondary burials located within the body of the mound. Most barrows include a
small number of grave goods. These are often small pottery food vessels, but
stone, bone, jet and bronze items have also occasionally been found. Shallow
ditches and/or stone kerbs immediately encircling the mounds are also quite
common.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Ordinance Survey record card, SE 79 NE 18, (1973)

Source: Historic England