Scheduled Monument: Bowl Barrow In Lavenham Close, Tytherington (1011119)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow in Lavenham Close, Tytherington PARISH: MACCLESFIELD DISTRICT: MACCLESFIELD COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 22592 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ91387490 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on a local high point amongst housing development in Lavenham Close. It includes a low oval earthen mound with poorly defined edges up to 0.5m high with maximum dimensions of 18m by 15m. Evidence of a Bronze Age cremation burial was found in 1973 when 19 small fragments of pottery, some decorated with impressed dots, and a small quantity of calcined bones were recovered from the spoil of a Home Guard trench on the barrow. 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 limited disturbance to the monument by a combination of wartime Home Guard use and recent landscaping, the bowl barrow in Lavenham Close survives reasonably well. Investigation of the spoil from the Home Guard trench located human remains and pottery, 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 5th January 1976 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Cheshire 96 NAME: Round barrow 100yds (90m) north of Beech Hall School The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 22592 NAME: Bowl barrow in Lavenham Close, Tytherington SCHEDULING REVISED ON 28th September 1993