Scheduled Monument: Two bowl barrows on South Heath, 290m and 370m east of Binnegar Hall (1016276)

Reasons for Designation 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 some reduction, the two bowl barrows on South Heath, east of Binnegar Hall, survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. History Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Details The monument, which falls into two areas, includes two bowl barrows situated on the southern edge of a plateau known as South Heath, overlooking the Frome Valley to the south. The barrows were recorded by L V Grinsell (1959) and the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments in England (1970), when each barrow had a mound 9m in diameter and between approximately 0.9m-1.2m in height. The eastern barrow mound has since been reduced, but survives as a stony patch approximately 0.3m high. The two mounds are each surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during their construction. These have become infilled over the years, but each will survive as a buried feature 1.5m wide.

Record last edited

Oct 9 2024 4:24PM