Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 91m south of Piney Sleight Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Cheddar, Somerset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.2941 / 51°17'38"N

Longitude: -2.753 / 2°45'10"W

OS Eastings: 347589.132178

OS Northings: 155262.964

OS Grid: ST475552

Mapcode National: GBR JJ.YL7F

Mapcode Global: VH89B.7QFT

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 91m south of Piney Sleight Farm

Scheduled Date: 26 February 1934

Last Amended: 7 January 1992

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1010922

English Heritage Legacy ID: 13801

County: Somerset

Civil Parish: Cheddar

Traditional County: Somerset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Somerset

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated south of Piney Sleight Farm and
set on level ground close to the head of Cheddar Gorge. It consists of a
mound, 9m in diameter and c.0.30m at its highest point. Surrounding the mound
are traces of a ditch from which material was quarried during construction of
the monument. This has become partly infilled over the years but now survives
as a low earthwork 2m wide and c.0.15m deep. A central hollow may mark the
site of a partial excavation conducted in 1923 by RF Read and which produced
pottery and charcoal, believed to be contemporary with the monument.

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.

The bowl barrow south of Piney Sleight Farm survives comparatively well
despite a small area of localised disturbance caused by partial excavation in
the early 20th century. The excavation is unlikely to have disturbed burials
contemporary with the mound and much of the barrow remains intact. It
therefore has potential for the recovery of archaeological and environmental
evidence relating both to the monument and the landscape in which it was
constructed.
The importance of the monument is enhanced by its location in an
area which exhibits a concentration of burial monuments, thus giving an
indication of the nature and scale of human occupation during the Bronze Age
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural Hist Soc' in Somerset Barrows Part II, , Vol. Vol 115, (1971)
Read, R F, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Excavation Of Mendip Barrows, , Vol. Vol 2, (1924)
Tratman, EK, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society, , Vol. Vol 3(1), (1972)
Tratman, E K, 'University of Bristol Speleological Society' in Barrow Catalogue, ()
Other
Dennison, E, (1985)
Mention of excavation in 1956, RCHME NAR, (1990)

Source: Historic England

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