Ancient Monuments

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Eastcombe bowl barrows, 230m and 335m west of Nash End Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Bisley-with-Lypiatt, Gloucestershire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.7406 / 51°44'26"N

Longitude: -2.1522 / 2°9'8"W

OS Eastings: 389583.3561

OS Northings: 204666.2088

OS Grid: SO895046

Mapcode National: GBR 1MN.W45

Mapcode Global: VH94Z.NJ10

Entry Name: Eastcombe bowl barrows, 230m and 335m west of Nash End Farm

Scheduled Date: 4 February 1949

Last Amended: 7 July 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1016873

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32359

County: Gloucestershire

Civil Parish: Bisley-with-Lypiatt

Built-Up Area: Chalford

Traditional County: Gloucestershire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Gloucestershire

Church of England Parish: Bisley All Saints

Church of England Diocese: Gloucester

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned north east - south west on a
hillside in the Cotswolds and within two areas of protection. The southern
barrow lies on the crest of the hill, while the other lies just below the
crest. The southern barrow measures 15m in diameter and about 0.4m in height.
The barrow to the north east has a mound which measures 12m in diameter and
0.5m high. Surrounding each barrow mound is a ditch from which material was
excavated for their construction. These ditches are no longer visible at
ground level, but have survived as buried features about 2m wide.
The remains of the stone field wall which originally ran north west to south
east across the north eastern barrow are excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath it is included.

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 two barrows west of Nash End Farm survive reasonably well in an area of
considerable prehistoric activity with another barrow to the east and the site
of a barrow to the south. Their mounds will contain evidence for primary and
secondary burials, along with grave goods, which will provide information
about prehistoric funerary practices and the local community at that time. The
barrow mound will also preserve environmental information in the buried
ground surface providing evidence for the landscape at the time of the barrows
construction. In addition, the mounds and their surrounding ditches will
contain environmental evidence in the form of organic remains, which will
relate both to the barrows and the wider landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, 'Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc' in Gloucestershire Barrows, , Vol. LXXIX, (1960), 103-4

Source: Historic England

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