See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A mound and surrounding ring ditch were visible as an earthwork and cropmark on aerial photographs of the 1980s and 1990s on the south-eastern edge of a facing spur to the south-west of Starved Oak Cross, Upton Pyne. The mound and cropmark are probably evidence of a ditch enclosed round barrow of Bronze Age date, one of line of four on a low broad ridge which form part of the Upton Pyne Group of more than 30.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010641: Bowl barrow 220m WSW of Starved Oak Cross
• SHINE: Prehistoric bowl barrow south of Bramble Lane

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 448129
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX99NW/1
• Old SAM County Ref: 318A
• Old SAM Ref: 15024
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX99NW2

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOWL BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

National Monuments Record, SX9098, 3-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341810.

National Monuments Record, SX9198, 5-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341811.

Ancient Monuments, Upton Pyne, 4 Barrows, near Bramble Lane, 318A (Schedule Document). SDV341854.

[One] of four large mounds. All have been ploughed and spread. 70 feet diameter, 4 feet high.

Fox, A., 1969, The Upton Pyne Cemetery, 75,78 (Article in Serial). SDV341856.

Barrow (No. 18) south west of Starved Oak Cross. 100 feet diameter, 3-4 feet high. Spread by ploughing. The linear disposition of the group implies successive dynastic or family burials. Other details: No 18.

Unknown, 1976, Untitled Source (Archive - Survey). SDV341843.

Grassed over and very irregularly spread.

Unknown, 1979, Upton Pyne Barrow 18 (Plan - measured). SDV348566.

Unknown, 1979, Upton Pyne Barrow 18 Profile (Plan - measured). SDV348567.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, Exe Valley Barrow No 18 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Surveyed 30/10/1979. Rounded top. East side distorted by recent hedge removal but may have preserved heigh on this side at about 1.3 metres. South and east sides appear more affected by ploughing. Four flints found on barrow. Other details: Survey drawing (1:200) and profile.

Allden, A., 1981, A Study of some Devon Barrows and their Diminishing Future (Report - non-specific). SDV339662.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1982 - 1999, SX99NW2 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV341806.

1. Site of supposed bowl barrow.
2. Site visit 2/08/1962. Barrow D is a ditchless bowl barrow spread by the plough with an average diameter of 25.0 metres and a height of 0.8 metres.
3. 100 feet diameter and 3 - 4 feet high in 1968.
4. Site visit 09/02/1982. Now 36.0 metres diameter and 0.8 metres high.
5. The barrow is thought to have been constructed on a levelled area cut into the hillside. Other details: photograph.

Grinsell, L. V., 1983, The Barrows of South and East Devon, 44 (Article in Serial). SDV337013.

DCC, 1984, DAP 3553, DAP 3553/03 16-JUL-1984 (CG) (Aerial Photograph). SDV359180.

A ring ditch is visible as a cropmark. Map object based partly on this source.

Devon County Council, 1984, DAP 3571, DAP 3571/10 23-JUL-1984 (DA) (Aerial Photograph). SDV359260.

A ring ditch is visible as a diffuse cropmark.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/CG, 3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV267548.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/DA, 10,11 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341807.

Griffith, F. M., 1985, DAP/FG, 8 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341808.

DCC, 1990, DAP/6844, DAP 6844/12 07-MAR-1990 (PZ) (Aerial Photograph). SDV359259.

A ring ditch is visible as a faint cropmark.

Department of Environment, 1991, Bowl Barrow 220m WSW of Starved Oak Cross (Schedule Document). SDV341813.

Bowl barrow surviving as an earthen mound, 32 metres in diameter and 1 metre high, in an arable field. There is no visible or recorded evidence that it has even been excavated, though several flint artefacts have been recovered from its surface during survey. The barrow is the easternmost of a line of four well-spaced barrows on a low broad ridge, part of the Upton Pyne barrow group, which comprises over
thirty recorded barrows. Other details: Originally scheduled 16/02/1953..

Griffith, F. M., 1995, DAP/YK, 2-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDV338779.

Griffith, F. M., 1995, DAP/YK, Devon County Council DAP/YK 2, 4 17-JUL-1995 (Aerial Photograph). SDV338779.

A ring ditch is visible as a cropmark.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SX9198 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 27th-Feb-2005 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

Environment Agency, 1998-2014, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution), LIDAR SX9098 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014 (Cartographic). SDV359177.

A mound is visible as an earthwork. Map object based partly on this source.

Miller, A., 1999, Untitled Source (Interpretation). SDV341809.

Southwest Archaeology, 2008, Hurdles Farm, Upton Pyne, Exeter, Devon. Results of a Desk-Based Cartographic Assessment, 5,21 (Report - Assessment). SDV341805.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 98 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Extensive significant problems, ie under plough, collapse. Principal vulnerability arable ploughing.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 90 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Bonnington, P., 2011, Earlier Bronze Age Cemetery Mounds and the Multiple Cremation Burial Rites in Western Britain, 84-87 (Article in Serial). SDV361498.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A mound circa 33 metres in diameter enclosed by a surrounding ring ditch up to circa 3 metres wide were visible as an earthwork and cropmark on aerial photographs of the 1980s and 1990s, in south-facing hollow to the south-west Starved Oak Cross, Upton Pyne.
The mound was most clearly definable on digital images derived from lidar data and may have been spread over the ditch, particularly towards the east where the earthwork might be truncated by the line of an extant field boundary. The mound and cropmark are probably evidence of a ditch enclosed round barrow of Bronze Age date.
Many of the aerial photographs consulted by the survey are copies of DAPs held by the Historic England Archive. In some cases these have been recorded as separate sources. This is because variations in the way the prints have been processed could result in images on which archaeological features are visible to a greater or lesser degree.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV267548	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1984. DAP/CG. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 3.
SDV337013	Article in Serial: Grinsell, L. V.. 1983. The Barrows of South and East Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 41. Paperback Volume. 44.
SDV338779	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1995. DAP/YK. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 2-4.
SDV339662	Report - non-specific: Allden, A.. 1981. A Study of some Devon Barrows and their Diminishing Future. Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology Publication. 10. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV341310	Archive - Survey: Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology. 1979 - 1981. North Devon Barrow Survey. Devon Barrow Survey. Digital + Mixed Archive Material. Exe Valley Barrow No 18.
SDV341805	Report - Assessment: Southwest Archaeology. 2008. Hurdles Farm, Upton Pyne, Exeter, Devon. Results of a Desk-Based Cartographic Assessment. Southwest Archaeology Report. 080313. A4 Stapled. 5,21.
SDV341806	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1982 - 1999. SX99NW2. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV341807	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1984. DAP/DA. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 10,11.
SDV341808	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1985. DAP/FG. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 8.
SDV341809	Interpretation: Miller, A.. 1999. RCHME Aerial Photograph Primary Recording Project. Digital.
SDV341810	Aerial Photograph: National Monuments Record. SX9098. National Monuments Record Aerial Photograph. Unknown. 3-4.
SDV341811	Aerial Photograph: National Monuments Record. SX9198. National Monuments Record Aerial Photograph. Unknown. 5-8.
SDV341813	Schedule Document: Department of Environment. 1991. Bowl Barrow 220m WSW of Starved Oak Cross. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV341843	Archive - Survey: Unknown. 1976. Student Survey. Map (Paper).
SDV341854	Schedule Document: Ancient Monuments. Upton Pyne, 4 Barrows, near Bramble Lane. The Schedule of Monuments. Foolscap. 318A.
SDV341856	Article in Serial: Fox, A.. 1969. The Upton Pyne Cemetery. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 27. Paperback Volume. 75,78.
SDV342694	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2009. Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West. English Heritage Report. A4 Bound +Digital. 98.
SDV344777	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2010. Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West. English Heritage Report. Digital. 90.
SDV348566	Plan - measured: Unknown. 1979. Upton Pyne Barrow 18. Plan + Digital.
SDV348567	Plan - measured: Unknown. 1979. Upton Pyne Barrow 18 Profile. Plan + Digital.
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV357034	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX9198 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 27th-Feb-2005.
SDV359177	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2014. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX9098 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 30-SEP-2014.
SDV359180	Aerial Photograph: DCC. 1984. DAP 3553. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DAP 3553/03 16-JUL-1984 (CG).
SDV359259	Aerial Photograph: DCC. 1990. DAP/6844. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DAP 6844/12 07-MAR-1990 (PZ).
SDV359260	Aerial Photograph: Devon County Council. 1984. DAP 3571. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). DAP 3571/10 23-JUL-1984 (DA).
SDV361498	Article in Serial: Bonnington, P.. 2011. Earlier Bronze Age Cemetery Mounds and the Multiple Cremation Burial Rites in Western Britain. British Archaeological Reports. 548. Paperback Volume. 84-87.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4415 - Devon Barrow Survey
• EDV4428 - Desk-based Cartographic Assessment of a site at Hurdles Farm, Upton Pyne
• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.