Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

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

Bowl barrow on Churchland Green 350m west of Coldharbour Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Aveton Gifford, 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: 50.3545 / 50°21'16"N

Longitude: -3.8225 / 3°49'21"W

OS Eastings: 270444.255

OS Northings: 52093.160026

OS Grid: SX704520

Mapcode National: GBR QD.T1SZ

Mapcode Global: FRA 28W3.8MK

Entry Name: Bowl barrow on Churchland Green 350m west of Coldharbour Farm

Scheduled Date: 9 February 2001

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1019320

English Heritage Legacy ID: 33757

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Aveton Gifford

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Loddiswell St Michael and All Angels

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

This monument includes a Late Neolithic to Bronze Age bowl barrow located on
an east to west aligned ridge, beside a country lane.
A crater in the centre of the mound, together with spoil heaps to the south
and west, indicate that the barrow has been the subject of a partial
undocumented early excavation, and give it a slightly ovoid shape. The
barrow is 16m wide by 19m long and survives up to 1m high on the south side
and 1.8m on the north. The central crater is ovoid in shape, open at the west
end and is 7.5m wide from north to south, 8.5m long and between 0.9m and 1.8m
deep.
The southern spoil heap projects 2m from the mound and is 0.8m high, while the
western one projects for 4m and is 0.9m high.
A 4.5m wide by 0.1m deep encircling quarry ditch is faintly visible on the
north side. A hedgebank to the east curves away to avoid the barrow.
The modern road surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath 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.

Despite the attentions of barrow robbers in the past, the bowl barrow on
Churchland Green 350m west of Coldharbour Farm survives well and will retain
information about its construction and use. Remains of the primary burial may
survive and the surrounding ditch will contain stratified deposits. The
barrow's use as a parish boundary marker confirms its antiquity.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 27

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.