Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows and the archaeologically sensitive
ground between them, which are situated approximately 30m to the east of Dale
Hole Plantation and are divided from it by the north-south A1065 Brandon road.
The western of the two barrows is visible as an earthen mound, standing to a
height of approximately 1.5m and is approximately 31m in diameter. It has a
flat top and gently sloping sides. The second bowl barrow is situated over 20m
to the east of the first on the crest of a south east facing hill. It is
visible as a low earthen mound standing to a height of 0.75m, with a diameter
of approximately 44m. It is thought both mounds are encircled by ditches, from
which earth was quarried during the construction of the barrows, and although
these have become completely infilled and are no longer visible they will
survive as buried features approximately 3m in width.
The fences surrounding the western barrow and the fence at the west edge of
the eastern barrow are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath them is included.

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

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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 to the east of Dale Hole Plantation survive well. They
will retain archaeological imformation concerning the construction and the
manner and duration of the use of the barrows as well as their stratigraphic
and chronological relationship to one another. Evidence for the local
environment in the prehistoric period, will also be preserved in the
upstanding earthworks, in soils buried beneath the mounds and in the fills of
the surrounding ditches. The ground between the barrows will include other
buried features relating to the barrows. The proximity of the barrow to a
number of other barrows in this part of the Breckland region give them
additional interest. Together these barrows give some evidence of the
character, development and density of the prehistoric population in this area.

Source: Historic England