Details

This monument, which falls into two areas, includes three bowl barrows
situated on a high upland ridge known as Bratton Down overlooking the valley
of a tributary to the River Bray. The southern barrow survives as a circular
mound which measures 19.5m in diameter and is 0.7m high. The surrounding
quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived survives
as a buried feature approximately 3m wide. The central barrow mound is 18m in
diameter and 0.5m high, and the northern barrow mound is 17.9m in diameter and
0.7m high. The quarry ditches of both of these barrows also survive as buried
features, approximately 3m wide.

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 their height through cultivation, the three bowl barrows
180m east and 300m north east of Stowford Cross survive comparatively well and
will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the
monument and its surrounding landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS64SE38, (1987)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS64SE39, (1987)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS64SE40, (1983)

Source: Historic England