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.
This bowl barrow is one of the best preserved upstanding examples within the
Upton Pyne barrow group, and has survived without previous recorded
archaeological disturbance; tree roots and a badger set affect the barrow to
only a limited extent and depth, leaving a high likelihood of intact funerary
deposits. The unusual low-lying position of the Upton Pyne barrow cemetery,
its good overall preservation, and the quality of the dating, constructional
and artefactual information that it has already produced, have all resulted in
its frequent mention in national reviews of Bronze Age funerary monuments.
Details
The monument comprises a bowl barrow surviving as a fine upstanding earthen
mound, 30m in diameter and 2m high, at the edge of a deciduous plantation.
There is no visible or recorded evidence that this barrow has ever been
subject to any archaeological excavation, although debris from a badger set in
the SE half of the barrow confirms a red soil/clay outer layer to the mound
similar to that noted in other excavated barrows nearby. This barrow is one
of a relatively isolated pair, spaced 70m apart, on the S crest of a low hill
at the eastern edge of the core area of the Upton Pyne barrow group. This
group comprises over thirty recorded barrows dispersed about a low-lying
alluvial basin north of the confluences of the River Exe with the Rivers Culm
and Creedy. Within the overall group, barrows occur both as isolated examples
and forming localised clusters. Grave goods and a radiocarbon date derived
from the few partly-excavated barrows in this group indicate burials during
the early and middle Bronze Age (around 2000 - 1000 BC). All of the
upstanding barrows in this group present the appearance of unditched bowl
barrows, the absence of ditches being supported by air photographic evidence
and confirmed for all examples that have been excavated. The post-and-wire
fence crossing by the barrow's SSE side and the badger-viewing platform
erected on the barrow's SE slope are excluded from the scheduling but the land
beneath them is included.
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.
