Details

This monument includes a saucer barrow which is situated on a high upland
ridge known as Knowstone Inner Moor which overlooks the valley of a tributary
to the Sturcombe River.
The monument survives as a circular mound 5.7m in diameter and up to 1m high,
surrounded by an inner ditch up to 1.3m wide and 0.5m deep. Beyond this is an
outer bank which measures 9.6m wide and up to 0.6m high. The outer quarry
ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived survives as a
buried feature defined by a wet flat area up to 4m wide, visible most clearly
on the eastern side.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Saucer barrows are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples
dating to between 1800 and l200 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of round barrows). They were
constructed as a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal
ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound covering one or more
burials, usually in a pit. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are
sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Saucer
barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, with about 60
known examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. The presence of grave
goods within the barrows provides important evidence for chronological and
cultural links amongst prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern
England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social
organisation. As a rare and fragile form of round barrow, all identified
saucer barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

The saucer barrow 100m south west of Knowstone Moor Cross survives well and
maintains many of its original features. It will also contain archaeological
and environmental information relating to both the monument and its
surrounding landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS82SW12, (1983)

Source: Historic England