Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 80m north west of Windmilland Cross

A Scheduled Monument in Black Torrington, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.815 / 50°48'54"N

Longitude: -4.1768 / 4°10'36"W

OS Eastings: 246748.691037

OS Northings: 103976.061779

OS Grid: SS467039

Mapcode National: GBR KK.XZPS

Mapcode Global: FRA 264Y.8LT

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 80m north west of Windmilland Cross

Scheduled Date: 19 March 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1018525

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32197

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Black Torrington

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Black Torrington St Mary

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a high ridge beside a
crossroads known as Windmilland Cross.
The monument survives as a circular flat topped mound which measures 17.4m in
diameter and up to 0.7m high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material
to construct the mound was derived, is preserved as a buried feature. There is
a strong possibility that this barrow was reused as the base for a later
windmill, which in turn gave its name to the nearby crossroads.

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

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.

Despite reduction in its height due to cultivation, the bowl barrow 80m north
west of Windmilland Cross survives comparatively well in a prominent ridge top
location. Archaeological and environmental information relating to the
monument and the landscape in which it was constructed survives in and under
this mound.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS40SE8, (1982)

Source: Historic England

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