Details

The scheduling includes four prehistoric round barrows, situated on slight
north and north east facing slopes south of a valley head, on Bear's
Downs, north of St Columb Major. The barrows lie in three separate areas
of protection. They are associated with other round barrows to the south,
which are the subject of a separate scheduling, forming a distinctive
group within a wider barrow cemetery.
The round barrows are irregularly spaced, the two in the north of the
scheduling forming an adjoining pair, while those to the south east are
more widely set. The northernmost of the pair has a mound of earth and
stone, oval in plan, with a gently rounded profile, modified by
cultivation. It measures 20.5m across north-south by 16m east-west, and is
up to 1.6m high where it projects from the natural slope on the north
east. There is no evidence for a ditch around the mound. The southern
barrow of the pair is visible as an oval earth and stone mound, with no
surrounding ditch, measuring approximately 13m north-south by 8m
east-west. It is reduced by ploughing to a height of around 0.3m.

Moving south east, the next barrow has an oval mound with no known ditch.
The mound extends 32m north-south and 18m east-west, the east side being
levelled by agricultural operations. It is around 1.5m high, and has a
smoothed, rounded profile. The surface of the mound appears more
clay-like, and stony, than that of the surrounding ground. An excavation
has provided evidence of construction in layers, some of turf and some
stone.
The southernmost barrow in the scheduling has a sub-circular earth and
stone mound, measuring approximately 18m across and 2.5m high. The mound
shows limited modern modification, and truncation on the east, and has a
central hollow considered to be an antiquarian excavation. Again, there is
no evidence for an external ditch.

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 barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
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 limited modification, the four round barrows 400m south east of
Little Trewinnick Farm survive fairly well. The underlying old land
surfaces, and remains of any structures or other deposits associated with
these and with the upstanding earthworks, will also survive. The evidence
for layers of different materials making up one of the barrow mounds
illustrates the variation in types of construction within this monument
type.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Dudley, D, 'Proceedings of the West Cornwall Field Club' in Recent Work in Cornish Archaeology 3 Bogee, St Ervan, , Vol. Vol 1, 4, (1956), 149-150
Other
MS at RIC library, Truro. Date approx, Henderson, C, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, (1920)
MS at RIC library, Truro. Date approx, Henderson, C, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, (1920)
Saunders, AD, AM7, (1958)
SW 96 NW 12, Fletcher, MJ, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1972)
SW 96 NW 12, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1977)
SW 96 NW 2, Fletcher, MJ, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1972)
SW 96 NW 2, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1977)
SW 96 NW 5, Fletcher, MJ, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1972)
SW 96 NW 5, Quinnell, NV, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1977)
Title: Cornwall Mapping Project
Source Date: 1995
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Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1880
Author:
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Date approx.
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1880
Author:
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Date approx.
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1908
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Date approx.
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map
Source Date: 1908
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Date approx.
Title: Ordnance Survey 2" drawing
Source Date: 1810
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Title: Pydar Map and notes
Source Date: 1840
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MS
Title: Pydar Map and notes
Source Date: 1840
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MS
Title: Pydar Map and notes
Source Date: 1840
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MS
Title: St Ervan Tithe Apportionment
Source Date: 1842
Author:
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523
Title: St Ervan Tithe Apportionment
Source Date: 1842
Author:
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Surveyor:
535a

Source: Historic England