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Westwood Bowl BarrowRound Barrow(s)
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SMR Entry for Westwood: MONUMENT: Bowl barrow on Westwood Common, 610m north west of Blackmill PARISH: BEVERLEY DISTRICT: EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE COUNTY: EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 26558 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): TA01843954 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow on the northward side of Westwood Common, Beverley, 120m to the south of the A1079 York - Beverley Road and 610m north west of Blackmill. It is one of an important group of prehistoric funerary earthworks surviving together on Westwood Common, which represents a sizeable area of land in which prehistoric earthworks have survived because of the establishment of common grazing rights here in the 14th century AD. The barrow survives as a visible mound 7m in diameter and up to 0.75m in height. It is surrounded by a ditch up to 2m wide, which although infilled through the course of time and now no longer visible at the ground level, will survive as a buried feature. There is no indication that this barrow has been excavated in the past, and it is therefore thought to survive with its burial contents intact. 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. The monument is one of a closely associated group of prehistoric earthworks on Westwood Common, which includes both square and round barrows, as well as Romano-British enclosures, linear boundary dykes and a short section of Roman road. The group has survived as part of a rare landscape characterised by features dating back as far as the Bronze Age, which has owed its survival to the granting of common grazing rights to the local people of Beverley in the 14th century AD. The survival of such an extensive area of earthworks is unusual in this region of East Yorkshire, where arable agricultural practices have resulted in the destruction of many earthwork remains of monuments above ground. It offers important insights into ancient land use and territorial divisions for social, ritual and agricultural purposes in this area and the development of these through time. As the monument has not been excavated, it will still contain primary and secondary burials, and further archaeological information relating to its construction. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 21st June 1978 as part of: COUNTY/NUMBER: Humberside 5 NAME: Burial mounds and enclosure on Westwood Common The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 26558 NAME: Bowl barrow on Westwood Common, 610m north west of Blackmill SCHEDULING REVISED ON 19th January 1996 |
Posted by BrigantesNation 24th August 2003ce |
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