Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located in The Belt plantation, adjacent
to the Weasenham to Wellingham Road, 1.1km north west of High House Farm. The
barrow is situated on former heathland in the Good Sands upland region of
north west Norfolk. It is one of a wider, dispersed group of round barrows
aligned approximately east-west over a distance of about 2.5km, and others
of the group are the subject of separate schedulings.
The bowl barrow is visible as a mound measuring 18m in diameter and standing
up to 1m high. A hollow, measuring 3m in width and 0.8m deep, lies at the
south west edge of the mound. A linear boundary, depicted on 19th century and
earlier maps, lies immediately adjacent to the north edge of the mound. The
boundary, aligned east-west, is marked by a partly infilled ditch, measuring
3m in width and 0.4m deep, bordered by a bank, 2m wide and 0.2m high, on the
north side. The boundary may be of medieval or early post-medieval origin and
a length of the ditch and bank adjacent to the barrow is included in the
scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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 and boundary in The Belt plantation, 1.1km north west of High
House Farm, survive well as a series of earthwork and buried remains. Evidence
for their construction, date, and also the local environment at that time will
be contained in, and sealed beneath, the artificially raised ground and in the
fill of the ditch. As one of a wider group, which together form an area
cemetery, the barrow will contribute to an understanding of the character and
development of prehistoric society. The boundary is evidence of later land use
and boundaries were sometimes laid out using barrows as markers.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: (photcopy of) Weasenham map, c1600?, FX 269/1
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Title: Weasenham All Saints Tithe Apportionment and Map, DN/TA 350
Source Date: 1840
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England