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Two bowl barrows at Big Wood, 580m south west and 470m south of Moorland Cottage

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1017949
Date first listed:: 08-Oct-1981

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1017949
Date first listed:: 08-Oct-1981
Date of most recent amendment:: 22-Apr-1998

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Devon
District:: East Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Exmouth
National Grid Reference:: SY 02520 84251, SY 02908 84220

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 two bowl barrows in Big Wood are well preserved examples of their class of monument, set in a commanding position overlooking the Exe estuary. They are unusually high and will retain many of their original features providing information about the barrows and the landscape in which they were constructed.

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas, includes two Bronze Age bowl barrows situated about 400m apart in Big Wood just south of Lympestone Common. The barrows lie near the crest of a spur on its south facing slope overlooking the estuary and the mouth of the River Exe. The westernmost barrow is 6m high and 16m in diameter with a rather conical and steep sided profile but flat-topped. It has a matrix of stony red soil with no trace of a surrounding quarry ditch. The other barrow further to the east and opposite Wright's Lane is of similar appearance but is 8m high and 20m in diameter. All fencing is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 29643
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, (1983), 32
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, (1983)
Other
Fox, A, (1950)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.