Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on the crest of a south facing
slope in an area of natural sandy heathland. The barrow is visible as an
earthen mound, which stands to a height of about 1m and covers a roughly
circular area measuring about 44m in diameter. 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 780m south west of Bernersfield Farm 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 the barrow to a
number of other barrows in this part of the Breckland region, and in
particular the Icklingham barrow cemetery which lies approximately 400m to the
north east, give it additional interest. Many of these barrows are sited on
land, which was in the past, and in many cases still is, heathland. Together
they give some evidence of the character, development and density of the
prehistoric population in this area.

Source: Historic England