Scheduled Monument: Upton Bowl Barrow (1010742)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The bowl barrow at Upton lies south east of Upton Mill. It is located 60m to the north-east of the mill stream and 350m east of Upton Way. Upton Bronze Age bowl barrow stands as a low round mound up to 0.65 metres high. The barrow is 28m in diameter and has a slight dip in the centre. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature 3m wide. Records suggest that the Bronze Age barrow was re-used in the medieval period as a windmill mound. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen 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 periods. 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. Upton bowl barrow is a large and well preserved example of a Northamptonshire barrow. It will retain considerable potential for the survival of archaeological and environmental evidence within the body of the mound.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2023 9:42AM