Scheduled Monument: Stephen's Castle, a bowl barrow 720m East of Eastworth Farm (1021148)

List entry Description Summary of Monument Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. 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. The bowl barrow, 720m east of Eastworth Farm, known as Stephen's Castle, is a well-preserved example of its class which will contain archaeological deposits providing information relating to Bronze Age burial practices, society and the landscape in which it was constructed. History Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Details The monument includes a bowl barrow, known as Stephen's Castle, at the southern end of a low spur, 720m east of Eastworth Farm. It is one of a dispersed group of similar monuments situated on Boveridge Heath, which are the subject of separate schedulings. Excavation in 1828 revealed a cremation under an inverted urn. The barrow has a mound, 15m in diameter and 1m high, surrounded by a quarry ditch, from which material was derived for its construction. This is no longer visible on the surface but will survive as a buried feature approximately 2m wide, and is included in the scheduling.

Record last edited

Oct 11 2024 2:20PM