Scheduled Monument: Bowl Barrow 800M South-East Of Jodrell Bank Farm (1007625)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow 800m south-east of Jodrell Bank Farm PARISH: SWETTENHAM DISTRICT: CONGLETON COUNTY: CHESHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 23657 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SJ79846967 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is a bowl barrow located on gently undulating land 800m south-east of Jodrell Bank Farm. It includes an oval earthen mound up to 0.5m high with maximum dimensions of 45m NE-SW by 35m NW-SE. 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 some spreading of this monument by ploughing, the bowl barrow 800m south-east of Jodrell Bank Farm survives reasonably well. It is a rare survival in Cheshire of an unexcavated example of this class of monument and will contain undisturbed archaeological deposits within the mound and upon the old landsurface beneath. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 08th March 1994