Details

This monument includes two conjoined bowl barrows situated on a prominent hill
known as Bampfylde Hill overlooking the valley of the River Mole. They form
part of a dispersed group of barrows recorded in this area.
The south eastern barrow survives as a circular mound which measures 19.8m in
diameter and 0.6m high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material to
construct the mound was derived is preserved as a buried feature measuring
approximately 3m wide. This barrow is conjoined by its mound and probably also
its ditch to a second barrow lying immediately to the north west, which
measures 15.4m in diameter and 0.4m high. The outer ditch to this second
barrow is also preserved as a buried feature, measuring approximately 3m wide.
The south eastern barrow was subject to ploughing in 1889, when a cist,
cremation burial, flint implements and a necklace of Faience beads were
discovered.

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 reduction in their heights through cultivation, the two conjoined bowl
barrows 190m south of Rews Cross survive comparatively well and are known from
finds recorded previously to contain archaeological and environmental
information relating to the mounds and their surrounding landscape. They form
part of a dispersed group of barrows.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS73SW10, (1988)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS73SW17, (1972)

Source: Historic England