Scheduled Monument: Western Bowl Barrow At Knights Low (1007383)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Western bowl barrow at Knights Low PARISH: LYME HANDLEY DISTRICT: MACCLESFIELD COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 22582 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ96448158 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on a gently sloping valley side in Knightslow Wood. It includes a circular earthen mound 5m in diameter and up to 0.5m high. 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 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 Knightslow Wood survives reasonably well. It is not known to have been excavated and will therefore contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 15th November 1993