Details

The monument includes the buried and earthwork remains of a prehistoric burial
mound 110m south west of the Shunner Howe barrow.
The round barrow survives as a 9m diameter mound up to 1m high with evidence
of a mainly infilled encircling ditch 2m wide. The mound has a small
depression just to the south of its centre which is considered to be evidence
of antiquarian excavation. The barrow is sited on the south west side of the
hill top which is capped by the larger Shunner Howe round barrow.

Excavation of other barrows has shown that even where no encircling depression
is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately around the
outside of barrows frequently survive as infilled features, containing
additional archaeological deposits.

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.

Excavations of round barrows in the region have shown that they demonstrate a
very 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. Modern excavations of barrows that were opened by 19th century
antiquarians have shown that secondary and even primary burials frequently
survive undisturbed. 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.

The barrow 110m south west of Shunner Howe is a well preserved example of a
small round barrow, its importance being enhanced by its proximity to the
larger Shunner Howe. Excavation of similar mounds in the area suggests that
the smaller mound will be earlier in date than Shunner Howe.

Source: Historic England