Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a prominent upland ridge,
which forms the watershed between the valleys of tributaries to the River Lyd,
River Burn and River Lumburn. The barrow is part of a round barrow cemetery,
nine other components of which lie to the west, east and south east and are
the subject of separate schedulings. The monument also straddles a parish
boundary.
The monument includes as a circular flat-topped mound which measures 24.9m in
diameter and up to 1m high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material
to construct the mound was derived is visible to the north, east and west
where it measures up to 4.1m wide and 0.1m deep. Some possible slight traces
of ridge and furrow representing medieval farming practice are evident across
the mound and in the surrounding heath. These are not however included in the
scheduling except where they impinge on the barrow.

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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The bowl barrow 570m east of the Firs, which forms part of the round barrow
cemetery at Heathfield survives well and will contain both archaeological and
environmental information relating to the monument and its surrounding
landscape.
Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow, with over 10,000
examples recorded natioanlly. They were constructed as earthen or rubble
mounds each covering single or multiple burials.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX47NE3, (1986)

Source: Historic England