Scheduled Monument: Bowl Barrow 120M East Of Village Lane (1011166)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow 120m east of Village Lane PARISH: WHITLEY DISTRICT: VALE ROYAL COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 23615 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ61717936 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on flat land 120m east of Village Lane. It includes a slightly oval earthen mound up to 0.6m high with maximum dimensions of 33m by 32m. A flint scraper, a further flint and a fragment of bone, all thought to have come from the mound, have been found on the surface of the field in close proximity to the barrow in recent years. 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 of the monument which has spread the mound, the bowl barrow 120m east of Village Lane survives reasonably well. Field walking has produced two flints and a fragment of bone thought to have come from the barrow, and further evidence of interments and grave goods will exist within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 18th October 1993