Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated 450m north east of Water Newton
Mill, on the northern bank of the River Nene. The mound is visible as a
substantial earthwork that has been partly spread and is of subcircular shape;
it measures 35m east to west and 26m north to south. While the northern slope
merges gradually with the surrounding field, the southern side stands out as a
prominent rise of 1.5m high. The ditch, from which earth was dug in the
construction of the mound, has become infilled and is no longer visible. It is
thought to survive as a buried feature, approximately 3m wide.

The barrow is situated in the Nene Valley, which acted as a focus for
prehistoric settlement and ritual activity. In the close vicinity are also the
remains of the Roman town Durobrivae and its associated settlements, which are
the subjects of separate schedulings.

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 450m north east of Water Newton Mill is part of the important
prehistoric Nene Valley landscape. As a substantial earthwork with associated
buried features, it is exceptionally well-preserved. The barrow does not
appear to have been excavated and most archaeological deposits are thought to
survive intact, with the potential for the recovery of valuable artefactual
and ecological evidence.

Source: Historic England