Ancient Monuments

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Two bowl barrows 595m north west of Belah Park Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Otterham, Cornwall

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.6851 / 50°41'6"N

Longitude: -4.6095 / 4°36'34"W

OS Eastings: 215758.4519

OS Northings: 90524.3273

OS Grid: SX157905

Mapcode National: GBR N7.63T3

Mapcode Global: FRA 1778.G17

Entry Name: Two bowl barrows 595m north west of Belah Park Farm

Scheduled Date: 29 August 1974

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1005464

English Heritage Legacy ID: CO 923

County: Cornwall

Civil Parish: Otterham

Traditional County: Cornwall

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cornwall

Church of England Parish: Otterham, Saint Juliot and Lesnewth

Church of England Diocese: Truro

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas of protection, includes two bowl barrows, situated at the summit of a prominent hill called Otterham Down, overlooking the valley of a tributary to the River Valency. The barrows survive as circular mounds surrounded by buried quarry ditches, from which the construction material was derived. The north western mound measures 19.5m in diameter and 0.5m high with a small central hollow. The south eastern mound is 19.5m in diameter and 0.4m high.

Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-434700

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. 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. Despite reduction in the heights of the mounds through past cultivation and early partial excavation, the two bowl barrows 595m north west of Belah Park Farm survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, relative chronologies, territorial significance, social organisation, ritual and funerary practices and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England

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