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Summary

Bowl barrow 260 metres north west of Putson Cross. The barrow, some 21.5 metres diameter and 0.9 metres high, survives comparatively well despite reduction in height due to cultivation and partial inclusion beneath the road.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017132: Bowl barrow 260m north west of Putson Cross
• SHINE: Prehistoric bowl barrow south east of Craze Lowman
• Scheduled Monument 1017132: Bowl barrow 260m north west of Putson Cross
• SHINE: Prehistoric bowl barrow south east of Craze Lowman

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 36447
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS91SE/52
• Old SAM Ref: 32229
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS91SE10

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOWL BARROW (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

NMR, SS9813, 4-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDV35383.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/221 V, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/221 V 5396-97 11-JUL-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV357046.

The barrow is visible as an earthwork mound.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1963 - 1980, SS91SE10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV35371.

1. Craze Lowman 'Barrow'. Ploughed. 100 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height, cut by road bank. Flakes and flints found by Lady Fox in field and on barrow.
2. Visited 24/10/1963, A circular ditchless mound 0.9 metres high which has been mutilated by a hedge bank and roadway. It is possibly a bowl barrow, but it is very low-lying, and might be a natural formation. Other details: Plan.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1963 - 1980, SS91SE10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV35371.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1963 - 1980, SS91SE10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV35371.

Blackwill, C., 1976, North Devon Link Road (Report - Survey). SDV35380.

Griffith, F. M., 1983, Untitled Source (Site Visit). SDV35373.

The mound on previous visits was seen to be very barrow-like. On this day it was being ploughed, and part of the mound was cut: the core of mound is stiff red clay with much charcoal. Definitely a barrow. Present diameter 42 paces.

Griffith, F. M., 1983, Untitled Source (Site Visit). SDV35373.

Griffith, F. M., 1983, Untitled Source (Site Visit). SDV35374.

Work on North Devon Link Road cut back the hedge where the road has removed the barrow. Little damage to core of barrow, except for one hole caused by machine track at the north of the barrow. Mound of barrow now harrowed; some flints retrieved. Other details: Slides.

Griffith, F. M., 1983, Untitled Source (Site Visit). SDV35374.

Robinson, R., 1987 - 2000, Devon Post-Reconnaissance Fieldwork Project (Un-published). SDV342165.

Condition as above. Other details: Photo BF 7, 8.

Robinson, R., 1996, Untitled Source (Site Visit). SDV35381.

Miller, A., 1996, Untitled Source (Interpretation). SDV35321.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, LiDAR DSM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SS9813,SS9814 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 - 16-FEB-2012 (Cartographic). SDV357034.

The barrow is visible as an earthwork mound.

English Heritage, 1999, Bowl barrow 260m north west of Putson Cross (Schedule Document). SDV340891.

Bowl barrow 260 metres north west of Putson Cross. Monument survives as a circular mound, 21.5 metres diameter and 0.9 metres high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived is preserved as a buried feature, approximately 3 metres wide. The monument is crossed by a road and ditched field boundary on its eastern side. The surface and make up of the road and field boundary are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.
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 2400-1500BC. They were constructed as earthern 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 priods. 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 bowl barrow 260m north west of Putson Cross survives comparatively well, despite reduction in its height through cultivation, and its partial inclusion beneath the public highway. The barrow will contain archaeological information concerning the construction and use of the monument and also environmental evidence relating to the surrounding landscape.

Glover, F., 2005, Untitled Source (Personal Comment). SDV321200.

Member of public called to inform of current ploughing in field, and machinery being parked on the barrow.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 103 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

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

Valentin, J., 2009, Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation, 4,11, App.1 A63 (Report - Assessment). SDV345204.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 95 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011: South West, 90 (Report - non-specific). SDV355280.

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

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

An earthwork mound of a probable prehistoric barrow is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, to the south of Craze Lowman. The semi-circular shaped earthwork mound measures approximately 35m in length and has been largely truncated by a field boundary and roadway within its eastern half. The barrow, which is situated on fairly level ground on the southern side of the River Lowman, remains clearly visible on digital images derived from Lidar data captured between 2005 and 2012.

Dean, R., 2017, Bowl barrow 260 metres northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton, Devon: Geophysical Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV360617.

Magnetometer and resistivity survey undertaken by Substrata at a bowl barrow northwest of Putson Cross. The magnetic and resistance responses were sufficient to be able to differentiate anomalies representing possible archaeological features. A total of six magnetic anomaly groups and six resistance anomaly groups were mapped as representing potential archaeological deposits and features.

Of these groups, one magnetic group and one resistance group coincide and are likely to represent the remains of a ring ditch associated with the barrow. One magnetic anomaly group (g3) may represent deposits within the confines of the barrow that appear to have been disrupted by possible ridge-and-furrow ploughing although no relationship between these deposits and the barrow could be ascertained (see MDV121002). Three magnetic groups represent either archaeological deposits such as small pits or postholes or natural deposits.

Rainbird, P., 2018, Scheduled Monument Number 1017132, Bowl Barrow 260 metres Northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton: Topographic and geophysical survey (Report - Survey). SDV361625.

Archaeological topographic and geophysical surveys were undertaken by AC archaeology and Substrata during October 2017 on and adjacent to a scheduled
monument, bowl barrow 260 metres northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton, Devon (National Heritage List for England [NHLE] ref. 1017132), a funerary monument of probable Bronze Age date. The barrow has historically been slighted by a road to the northeast and the topographic survey showed that the surviving part of the earthwork, although damaged by ploughing, survives to a height of 0.7 metres and showed no indication of undocumented excavation within the earthwork. The geophysical survey has established that there is potential for buried features within the barrow and provides a clear indication for a probable ring ditch associated with the monument.

The bowl barrow is located on level ground in the valley of the River Lowman at a height of 85m above Ordnance Datum (Fig. 1; Plate 1). It is formed by a mound
adjacent to the eastern boundary of an arable field. Only approximately half of the barrow remains above ground, with the remainder beneath a road on the east side of the field boundary. The underlying solid geology consists of sandstone of the Tidcombe Sand Member overlain by superficial alluvium deposits of clay, silt and sand (British Geological Survey Online Viewer 2018).

The key findings of the topographic survey show that the mound stands 0.7m high and measures approximately 26m northwest-southeast across the surviving full profile of the barrow. The survey results appear to show that that the central area of the barrow may survive, has not been dug into, and that a little over half of the barrow mound survives as an earthwork feature. The radius estimated from the centre of the barrow on the northeast-southwest axis measures approximately 14m, which is a little longer than expected and may indicate distortion of the earthwork by ploughing.

The magnetic and resistance responses were sufficient to be able to differentiate anomalies representing possible archaeological features. The detailed results are presented in Appendix 1. A total of six magnetic anomaly groups and six resistance anomaly groups were mapped within the wider survey area as representing potential archaeological deposits and features. Of these, one magnetic group and one resistance group coincide and are likely to represent the remains of a ring ditch associated with the barrow. One magnetic anomaly group may represent deposits within the confines of the barrow that appear to have been disrupted by possible ridge-and-furrow ploughing, although no relationship between these deposits and the barrow could be ascertained. Three magnetic groups represent either archaeological deposits such as small pits or postholes or natural deposits. Two resistance groups also lie within the barrow area, but these may represent relatively recent ploughing. The remaining magnetic and resistance anomalies are linear in form and may be associated with former field or enclosure boundaries of unknown date although they may represent field drains or natural deposits.

The archaeological topographic and geophysical surveys have added to the detailed record for this monument. The topographic survey shows that the core of the barrow is likely to be intact and does not appear to have been subject to undocumented excavation by antiquarians or others; this indicates that there should be good preservation within the part of the barrow that is extant. A magnetic response (g3) from the geophysical survey may indicate a feature buried within the barrow mound, although there is the possibility that this represents a robber trench that is no longer present as a surface feature. It has also been established that the barrow’s quarry ditch is present as a buried feature, up to 1.6m wide, with a possible terminal on the
southeast side.

The quarry ditch for the barrow was not present as a surface earthwork feature, although at the time of the survey this was largely under recent ploughing. The ditch, as represented by the magnetometer survey, extrapolates well with an aerial view on Google Earth dated 2006, shows the ditch as a well-defined semi-circle from which a circular form may be extrapolated (Plate 3). The ditch has a projected diameter of 27 metres and several probable former barrows have been identified by cropmarks of ring ditches in the Lowman Valley which are of a similar size. One of these, 500 metres to the north, measures 21 metres in diameter (Devon HER ref. MDV56029), while a group of three ring ditches located approximately 2km to the east, near Wallflower Cottage, have diameters of between 17 metres and 25.5 metres (MDVs 59013-15).

It is evident that the currently scheduled area underestimates the size of the barrow including its ring ditch (see Fig. 1b).

Sources / Further Reading

SDV321200	Personal Comment: Glover, F.. 2005. Not Applicable.
SDV340891	Schedule Document: English Heritage. 1999. Bowl barrow 260m north west of Putson Cross. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV342165	Un-published: Robinson, R.. 1987 - 2000. Devon Post-Reconnaissance Fieldwork Project. Devon Post-Reconnaissance Fieldwork Project. A4 Unbound.
SDV342694	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2009. Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West. English Heritage Report. A4 Bound +Digital. 103.
SDV344777	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2010. Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West. English Heritage Report. Digital. 95.
SDV345204	Report - Assessment: Valentin, J.. 2009. Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation. AC Archaeology Report. ACD30/2/1. A4 Stapled + Digital. 4,11, App.1 A63.
SDV35321	Interpretation: Miller, A.. 1996. RCHME Aerial Photograph Primary Recording Project. Digital.
SDV35371	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1963 - 1980. SS91SE10. OSAD Card. Card Index.
SDV35373	Site Visit: Griffith, F. M.. 1983. Not Applicable.
SDV35374	Site Visit: Griffith, F. M.. 1983. Not Applicable.
SDV35380	Report - Survey: Blackwill, C.. 1976. North Devon Link Road. Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology Rural Survey. 7. Unknown.
SDV35381	Site Visit: Robinson, R.. 1996. Devon Post-Reconnaissance Fieldwork Project. Photograph (Paper).
SDV35383	Aerial Photograph: NMR. SS9813. Unknown. 4-5.
SDV355280	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2011. Heritage at Risk Register 2011: South West. english Heritage. Digital. 90.
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 SS9813,SS9814 Environment Agency JPEG DSM 19-DEC-2005 - 16-FEB-2012. [Mapped feature: #80470 ]
SDV357046	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/3G/TUD/UK/221 V. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/3G/TUD/UK/221 V 5396-97 11-JUL-1946.
SDV360617	Report - Geophysical Survey: Dean, R.. 2017. Bowl barrow 260 metres northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton, Devon: Geophysical Survey. Substrata. ACD1579/2/0. Digital.
SDV361625	Report - Survey: Rainbird, P.. 2018. Scheduled Monument Number 1017132, Bowl Barrow 260 metres Northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton: Topographic and geophysical survey. AC Archaeology. ACD1579/3/0. Digital.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV1125 - Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Site visit
• EDV1126 - Site Visit to Craze Lowman Barrow
• EDV1127 - Site Visit to Craze Lowman Barrow
• EDV1131 - Devon Post-Reconnaissance Fieldwork Project
• EDV4893 - Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment, Tiverton
• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)
• EDV1124 - OSA=SS91SE10
• EDV7460 - Magnetometer and Resistance Survey: Bowl Barrow 260m northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton, Devon (Ref: ACD1579/2/0)
• EDV7573 - Topographic and Geophysical survey: Bowl Barrow 260 metres Northwest of Putson Cross, Tiverton (Ref: ACD1579/3/0)

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