Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows of prehistoric date located
within Big Plantation on a south and east facing slope of Pen Hill at the
eastern edge of the Mendip Hills. The three barrows are aligned from
north east to south west. The mound of the northernmost barrow is
approximately 0.75m high with an irregular plan 12m in diameter from north
to south and 7m from east to west. The central and southernmost barrows
are contiguous, each mound being a maximum of 0.6m in height. The mound of
the central barrow is 13m from east to west and 15m from north to south
whilst the mound of the southernmost barrow is 12m in diameter. In common
with other bowl barrows in the area their mounds are surrounded by ditches
from which material was quarried during their construction. Although these
are no longer visible at ground level they will survive as buried features
up to 2m wide. The central and southernmost mounds each have a hollow at
the centre suggesting partial excavation of the mound in antiquity.

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 some disturbance caused by woodland cover and the likelihood of
partial excavation in antiquity, the three bowl barrows in Big Plantation,
690m south west of Beechbarrow survive comparatively well and will contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument
and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society' in Somerset Barrows, , Vol. 115, (1971), 117
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society' in Somerset Barrows, , Vol. 115, (1971), 117
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society' in Somerset Barrows, , Vol. 115, (1971), 117
Tratman, E K, 'Proc Univ Bristol Spel Soc' in Fieldwork, (1938), 83
Tratman, E K, 'Proc Univ Bristol Spel Soc' in Fieldwork, (1938), 83

Source: Historic England