Scheduled Monument: Nab Head Bowl Barrow (1007396)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Nab Head bowl barrow PARISH: BOLLINGTON DISTRICT: MACCLESFIELD COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 22573 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ94007883 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on the summit of Nab Head. It includes an oval mound of earth and stones up to 1.8m high with maximum dimensions of 19m by 17m. At the barrow's centre is a hollow 4m in diameter and 0.4m deep within which is an Ordnance Survey column. A shallow trench has been cut from the barrow's north-western side into the central hollow. Surrounding the barrow on all sides except the west, where it underlies an old field boundary, is a shallow ditch 0.4m wide by 0.2m deep which is separated from the mound by a berm 3.5m wide.The Ordnance Survey column is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath the column is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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 formand 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 area 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 periodand a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Despite surface damage to the monument's centre and north-western quadrant, Nab Head bowl barrow survives reasonably well and will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. The form of the monument, including a berm between the mound and surrounding ditch, is unusual. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 4th October 1957 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Cheshire 56 NAME: Nab Head Round Barrow The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 22573 NAME: Nab Head bowl barrow SCHEDULING REVISED ON 21st October 1993