Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Bowl barrow

Monument Types

• BOWL BARROW (BOWL BARROW, Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Full description

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TR 11455126: Bowl barrow 13.0m in diam and 1.0m in height; there is anold central excavation crater and the periphery is mutilated by burrows. Discovered by J. Bradshaw. Surveyed at 1:2500. (1) TR 114513. Round barrow 273a, Diameter 21m, Height 1.5m in Mounts Wood. 'Small dimple on top'. (2)

From the National Heritage List for England:

Details:

The monument includes a bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound and an encircling ditch. The barrow mound covers an area 14m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 1.2m. At the centre of the mound is a hollow 1.5m across which signals a partial excavation, probably during the later 19th century. The surrounding ditch, which was dug to provide the earth with which to build the mound, is still visible as a slight depression some 2.5m from the outer to inner edge at the foot of the mound. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 20m.

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.

Although the barrow south of Capel Farm has been subjected to partial excavation in the past, the scale of disturbance is small and the monument still retains its archaeological potential. Evidence of tbe manner and duration of use of the barrow, as well as of the environment in which it was created, are likely to survive in the old ground surface below the mound as well as in the surrounding ditch. (5)

<1> J. Bradshaw, 8 Forest Houses, Challock (OS Card Reference). SKE44820.

<2> F1 CFW 19-NOV-69 (OS Card Reference). SKE42652.

<3> DOE (IAM) Record Form 3.10.86 (OS Card Reference). SKE40747.

<4> Field report for monument TR 15 SW 17 - November, 1969 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5506.

<5> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading