Details

The monument, which falls into two areas of protection, includes two bowl
barrows aligned north west by south east, situated on the northern periphery
of a prominent ridge overlooking the Avon Valley to the east. The barrows each
have a mound composed of sand, earth and turf, with maximum dimensions of 13m
and 15m in diameter and about 0.5m and 0.85m in height. The larger mound is to
the south. Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried
during the construction of the monument. These have become infilled over the
years, but each will survive as a buried feature 2m wide.

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.

Despite some disturbance by tree planting operations, the two bowl barrows on
the eastern part of Ashley Heath, in Watchmoor Wood, survive well and will
contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England