Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

Round barrow on Darracott Moor

A Scheduled Monument in Huntshaw, Devon

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 50.9735 / 50°58'24"N

Longitude: -4.1116 / 4°6'41"W

OS Eastings: 251843.7694

OS Northings: 121470.753597

OS Grid: SS518214

Mapcode National: GBR KN.LXYG

Mapcode Global: FRA 268J.XNP

Entry Name: Round barrow on Darracott Moor

Scheduled Date: 26 October 1970

Last Amended: 29 April 1991

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1012445

English Heritage Legacy ID: 13604

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Huntshaw

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Great Torrington St Michael

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

The round barrow is 18m in diameter and stands 0.75m high. It lies on
Darracott Moor and although it has been ploughed in the past, it is now
under grass. No visible ditch remains, but this could have been obscured
by ploughing. There is no record of the barrow having been excavated and
it thus offers considerable archaeological potential.

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. Their ubiquity and their tendency to occupy
prominent locations makes them 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 organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion
of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
This barrow is one of a small dispersed group which have demonstrated
considerable potential for the preservation of environmental evidence
both of a contemporary kind as well as of the pre-barrow ground surface.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Doe, G, 'Trans Devonshire Assoc' in Address of the President, , Vol. 71, (1939), 47
Grinsell, L V, 'Proc Devon Arch Soc' in The Barrows of North Devon, , Vol. 28, (1970), 119
Other
OS, OSA SS52SW2D - DCC SMR,

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.