Scheduled Monument: Bowl Barrow 250m SSE of Meadows Farm (1007388)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow 250m SSE of Meadows Farm PARISH: HORTON DISTRICT: CHESTER COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 22587 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ45464834 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on flat land 250m SSE of Meadows Farm. It includes a slightly oval clay mound up to 1.5m high with maximum dimensions of 24m by 23m. Surrounding the barrow on all sides except the south, where it has been truncated by a tree-lined farm track, is a shallow ditch up to 8m wide which has been partly infilled by material from the barrow during subsequent ploughing. Limited investigation of the monument's centre located a thick oak plank, thought to be part of an oak trunk coffin, at a depth of 2.5m below the barrow's surface. A post and wire fence on the monument's southern side is excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath the fence 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 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 past ploughing and limited investigation of the monument's centre, the bowl barrow 250m SSE of Meadows Farm survives reasonably well. This investigation located part of an oak coffin, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 7th January 1972 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Cheshire 83 NAME: Round barrow SE of Meadows Farm The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 22587 NAME: Bowl barrow 250m SSE of Meadows Farm SCHEDULING REVISED ON 19th October 1993