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 at Mill Hill Quarry is a substantial earthwork mound which,
being situated within a nature reserve, is easily and freely accessible to the
public. Despite part disturbance by quarrying activities, the mound and the
greater part of the buried quarry ditch remain largely intact. These will
retain extensive archaeological evidence, including funerary remains, relating
to the construction and dating of the barrow and to the ritual beliefs of the
barrow builders. Environmental deposits preserved within and beneath the
mound, and in the fills of the buried ditch, will help to illustrate the
nature of the landscape in which the barrow was set. The monument lies to the
east of both the Skendleby group of long barrows and the pair of long barrows
known as Deadmen's Graves, all of which are associated with the prehistoric
ridgeway now formalised as the Bluestone Heath Road. This siting, which
demonstrates the continuing ritual significance of the location, has
significant implications for the study of communications and the evolution of
prehistoric settlement in the area.
Details
The monument includes a Bronze Age burial mound situated on the eastern edge
of Mill Hill Quarry, 350m north west of Claxby church. The mound would
originally have been a prominent feature in an open landscape. However,
quarrying for chalk during the late 19th and early 20th centuries has cut a
long ravine running south east to north west, and the barrow now occupies an
overhanging ledge at the top of, and midway along, the north eastern face of
this ravine. The circular barrow mound is c.15.7m in diameter with a rounded
profile and stands to a height of c.1.3m. Material for the mound would have
been quarried from an encircling ditch and, although this is no longer
visible, it is thought to survive around all but the south western arc where
it has been disrupted by quarrying.
Finds made during the working of the quarry in the 1920s when digging at the
north eastern face partly undercut the mound, included a skeleton buried in a
crouched position together with a Beaker type pot which was subsequently dated
to c.1600 BC. It is recorded that an inquest was held and the skeleton later
buried in Claxby churchyard by the Rev Beasley. The pot, broken in its fall
down the quarry side, was preserved in the museum at Lincoln.
It is thought that during the medieval period the barrow mound may have
supported a windmill, a theory perpetuated by the barrow's name.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
