Scheduled Monument: Bowl Barrow 450M East-North-East Of Swettenham Hall (1011165)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow 450m east-north-east of Swettenham Hall PARISH: SWETTENHAM DISTRICT: CONGLETON COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 23614 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ81386670 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on flat land 450m east-north-east of Swettenham Hall. It includes a slightly oval earthen mound up to 0.7m high with maximum dimensions of 30m by 29m. 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 spreading of the monument by past ploughing, the bowl barrow 450m east-north-east of Swettenham Hall survives reasonably well. It is not known to have been excavated and will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 18th October 1993