Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located in Wicken Covert, approximately
100m south east of Highfield House. The barrow is situated on former heathland
in the Good Sands upland region of north west Norfolk. A further round barrow
lies approximately 500m to the south west and is the subject of a separate
scheduling.
The bowl barrow is situated at the top of a short west-facing slope and is
visible as a circular earthen mound measuring approximately 26m in diameter
and standing up to 1.2m high. The earliest descriptions of the barrow record
that the mound was encircled by a ditch. This has become infilled but will
survive as a buried feature.
All fence posts, hurdles and animal feeders are excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath them 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 bowl barrow in Wicken Covert, 100m south east of Highfield House survives
well as a series of earthwork and buried remains. Despite limited disturbance
the monument will preserve archaeological information concerning the
construction and date of the barrow. Evidence for the local environment at
the time of construction will be contained in buried soils beneath the mound.
It is associated with a further round barrow, giving added interest and
importance, and will contribute to an understanding of the character and
development of the prehistoric landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Lawson, A J, Martin, E A, Priddy, D, The Barrows of East Anglia, (1981), 34
Other
Norfolk SMR, NF1987, (2001)

Source: Historic England