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Summary

One of five bowl barrows forming a round barrow cemetery on the edge of Welsford Moor, to the south of Higher Welsford. It is clearly visible as a ring ditch on aerial photographs taken in 1959 and has potential to manifest as a cropmark in another dry summer.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Prehistoric bowl barrow west of Welsford Moor
• Scheduled Monument 1019085: Round barrow cemetery 920m south west of Higher Welsford

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS22SE/24
• Old SAM Ref: 32238
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS22SE11

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1959, RAF/58/2984, NMR RAF/58/2984 F22 0031-0032 30-JUN-1959 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349064.

A dark ring ditch cropmark is visible. Map object party based on this source.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, The Barrows of North Devon, 120 (Article in Serial). SDV7849.

Visited 5th April 1969. Bowl barrow under grass. Diameter 15 paces, height 6 inches.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977 - 1978, SS22SE11 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV340147.

Visited 6th December 1978. A ploughed down bowl barrow in a pasture field, 24 metres in diameter, 0.4 metres high. No evidence of a ditch.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, DCRA ND28 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Visited 8th November 1979. Diameter circa 16 metres, height 0.3 metres. Very low mound virtually eradicated. Slightly cut on east edge by drainage ditching. Barely discernable in pasture field. No sign of ditch. Very poor condition.

Bayer, O. J., 1996, Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location, Hartland 1 (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV319515.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1999, Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford (Schedule Document). SDV340145.

One of a group of five bowl barrows arranged in two pairs with a single outlier, forming a round barrow cemetery on a high upland ridge known as Welsford Moor, 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. The northernmost mound measures 20 metres in diameter and
0.4 metres high. Quarry ditch preserved as approximately 3 metres wide buried feature.

Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography, 2001, CUCAP ZknLQ, CUCAP ZknLQ 0074 22-JUN-2001 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349638.

The mound is visible as a pale almost circular cropmark in a cultivated field.

Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J., 2007, The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report, No. 668 (Report - Assessment). SDV339712.

Barrow Northernmost of five barrows 920 metres south-west of Higher Welsford. In 1999 Diam 20 metres, height 0.4 metres. Quarry ditch preserved as circa 3 metre wide buried feature.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 115 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems. Principal vulnerability arable ploughing.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 108 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.

A ring ditch is clearly visible as a dark cropmark on aerial photographs taken in 1959 and as a pale cropmark in aerial photographs from 2001. The ditch is approximately 2 metres wide and the overall monument is circa 26 metres diameter. Below ground remains are very likely to survive, even if no earthworks are visible.

Ordnance Survey, 2014, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV355681.

Tumulus marked.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV319515	Undergraduate Dissertation: Bayer, O. J.. 1996. Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location. University of Leicester Dissertation. A4 Stapled + Digital. Hartland 1.
SDV339712	Report - Assessment: Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J.. 2007. The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report. Exeter Archaeology Report. 06.22 (rev.1). A4 Stapled + Digital. No. 668.
SDV340145	Schedule Document: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 1999. Round Barrow Cemetery 920 Metres South-west of Higher Welsford. The Schedule of Monuments. A4 Stapled.
SDV340147	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1977 - 1978. SS22SE11. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV341310	Archive - Survey: Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology. 1979 - 1981. North Devon Barrow Survey. Devon Barrow Survey. Digital + Mixed Archive Material. DCRA ND28.
SDV342694	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2009. Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West. English Heritage Report. A4 Bound +Digital. 115.
SDV344777	Report - non-specific: English Heritage. 2010. Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West. English Heritage Report. Digital. 108.
SDV349018	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV349064	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1959. RAF/58/2984. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/58/2984 F22 0031-0032 30-JUN-1959.
SDV349638	Aerial Photograph: Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography. 2001. CUCAP ZknLQ. Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography. Photograph (Paper). CUCAP ZknLQ 0074 22-JUN-2001.
SDV355681	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2014. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital. [Mapped feature: #80480 ]
SDV7849	Article in Serial: Grinsell, L. V.. 1970. The Barrows of North Devon. Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society. 28. A5 Paperback. 120.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project
• EDV4415 - Devon Barrow Survey

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