MDE1063 - Bronze Age barrow on Parracombe Common (Monument)

Summary

A Bronze Age round barrow on Parracombe Common visible as a well defined circular mound measuring about 12 metres in diameter and 1.2 metre high.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

(SS69144461) Tumulus (NR). [1] SS69144461. Round barrow 13 paces in diameter and 4 feet high, with traces of a ditch on the southwest and west sides. [2] A bowl barrow 14.0 metres in diameter and 1.3 metres high. It is apparently undisturbed and lies in arable land. There is a suggestion of a perimeter ditch to the west. Published survey 25 inch revised. [3] Centred at SS 6914 4461. A well defined, turf covered circular mound lying within improved pasture, and at the time of investigation under a standing frass crop. It measures 12.7 metres north to south by 12 metres west to east, and has a summit diameter of 4.6 metres. It is 1.2 metres high. Some stones lie on the surface of the mound, but these may have been placed there recently as part of modern field clearance. The largest stones are 0.8 metres in length. No trace of the ditch referred to by earlier authorities could be seen under the standing grass. [4,5] The barrow described above is clearly visible on aerial photographs, and appears extremely well preserved. The ditch referred to by [1] is visible on photographs taken in 1952, but by 1972 has been obscured by ploughing and agricultural activity. The presence of the ditch indicates that this a classic ditched bowl barrow. [7,8] Round barrow situated some 280 metres south of woolhanger camp, in pasture. [9] This site has been ploughed during 1980, causing serious erosion. [10] The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the site a survival score of 3. [16] The site was surveyed in March 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 3. [17] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [18]

Sources/Archives (18)

  • <1> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1963. 6 Inch Map: 1963.
  • <2> Article in serial: Grinsell, L.V.. 1970. The Barrows of North Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 28. P. 126.
  • <3> Unpublished document: BUCKLEY, MHB. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey visit, 15 August 1972.
  • <4> Unpublished document: Wilson-North, R.. Various. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 24 June 1993.
  • <5> Technical drawing: Sainsbury, I. & Wilson-North, R.. 1993. South Common, SS 64 SE 20, 21, 22, 25, 46, 47, 54/ink survey . 1:2500. Permatrace. Pen and Ink.
  • <6> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. NMR OS/72314 287-88 (16 August 1972).
  • <7> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF 543/931 3046-47 (8 November 1952).
  • <8> Archive: 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 64 SE. MD002181.
  • <9> Index: Ministry of Works. 1968. List of Ancient Monuments.
  • <10> Unpublished document: Greeves, T.. 1980. Site Visit.
  • <11> Archive: Devon County Council. Various. Devon SMR / HER records / parish files - Exmoor records. S Weston, Letter to SMR, 11 October 1982.
  • <12> Unpublished document: McDonnell, R.. 1980. Gazetteer of Sites in the Exmoor National Park Identified through Aerial Photography. SS6944d.
  • <13> Aerial photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946 -1948. Vertical Aerial Photography. RAF/CPE/UK/1980.4086 (April 1947).
  • <14> Aerial photograph: Meridian Air Maps. 1977-1978. Infrared False Colour Aerial Photography. MAM/13/067 (May 1977).
  • <15> Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Record Card. SS64SE21.
  • <16> Report: Bray, L.S.. 2010. Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment 2009, Exmoor National Park.
  • <17> Report: Gent, T. and Manning, P.. 2015. Exmoor National Park Scheduled Monument Condition Survey 2015. Archaedia.
  • <18> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 34730, Extant 10 November 2021.

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Devon SMR (Devonshire): SS64SE/20
  • Devon SMR Monument ID: 2086
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MDE20146
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MMO33
  • Local List Status (No)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 64 SE21
  • National Park: Exmoor National Park
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 34730
  • Scheduled Monument (County Number): DV 630

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 6913 4461 (27m by 27m)
Map sheet SS64SE
Civil Parish PARRACOMBE, NORTH DEVON, DEVON

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Record last edited

Nov 10 2021 11:19AM

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