MSO8667 - Bronze Age bowl barrow on Withypool Common (Monument)

Summary

A Bronze Age bowl barrow, visible as a sub circular stony mound measuring 9.8 metres by 10.8 metres and 0.9 metres high. It has been disturbed and a hollow has been dug into the summit.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

[SS 82123708] Tumulus (NR) [1] Withypoole No. 5, a bowl barrow 10 paces diameter and 2.5 feet. high with a hollow in the centre. [2] This is a bowl barrow 0.6 metres high. Published survey (1/2500) revised. [3] Is one of a chain of mounds, thought to be the result of military activity. [4,5] A prehistoric barrow, consisting of a subcircular, stony mound measuring 9.8 metres (north to south) by 10.8 metres, and 0.9 metres high. The barrow has been mutilated and robbed, so that the eastern half is spread and some 0.3 metres lower than the west. A sharp east facing scarp marks this change in level. In addtion, a subcircular, vertical sided hollow, 2.2 metres in diameter, and 0.3 metres deep has been dug into the summit of the western part of the barrow, and is reached through a 0.3 metres wide, vertical sided gulley leading into it from the east. Further, a pronounced "berm" or step is visible on the southern scarp of the barrow. This does not appear to be an original feature, and may be the result of the overburden from the summit hollow being thrown down the slopes of the mound. The barrow lies within an area of ridging and field boundaries (see MSO8736). Vegetation: deep gorse and heather. [6] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [7] The feature is depicted and labelled "Tumulus" on the 2021 MasterMap data. [8]

Sources/Archives (8)

  • <1> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1962. 6 Inch Map: 1962. 1:10560.
  • <2> Article in serial: Grinsell, L.V.. 1969. Somerset Barrows, Part 1: West and South. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Nat. 113.
  • <3> Unpublished document: PALMER, JP. Mid 1960s. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey visit, F1, 31 August 1965.
  • <4> Aerial photograph: 1947. LHL CPE/UK/1980. 3320.
  • <5> Unpublished document: McDonnell, R.. 1980. Gazetteer of Sites in the Exmoor National Park Identified through Aerial Photography. SS8237.
  • <6> Unpublished document: Wilson-North, R.. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 3 August 1996.
  • <7> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 35746, Extant 10 August 2021.
  • <8>XY Map: Ordnance Survey. 2021. MasterMap data. 1:2,500. [Mapped feature: #30897 ]

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO11723
  • Local List Status (Unassessed)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 83 NW4
  • National Park
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 35746
  • Somerset SMR PRN (Somerset): 34291

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 8212 3707 (15m by 14m)
Map sheet SS83NW
Civil Parish WITHYPOOL AND HAWKRIDGE, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Aug 10 2021 4:33PM

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