Bowl barrow 900m south west of the junction of the Ridgeway and Green Street, forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Avebury Down

Reasons for Designation

A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. Two of the best known and earliest recognised, with references in the 17th century, are around Avebury and Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site. In the Avebury area, the henge monument itself, the West Kennet Avenue, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure and the enigmatic Silbury Hill are well-known. Whilst the other Neolithic long barrows, the many Bronze Age round barrows and other associated sites are less well-known, together they define one of the richest and most varied areas of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual monuments in the country. Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow and occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where investigation beyond the round barrows has occurred, contemporary or later `flat' burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland England with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments, as is the case both here and at Stonehenge. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, while their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. All examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite having been reduced by cultivation, the bowl barrow 900m south west of the junction of the Ridgeway and Green Street survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The barrow is one of few in the Avebury area not to have been excavated.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow 900m south west of the junction of the Ridgeway and Green Street, east of the village of Avebury. The barrow is one of at least ten round barrows which form a Bronze Age cemetery situated on the west facing slope of Avebury Down. The barrow has been reduced by cultivation but survives as a slight mound c.13m in diameter and up to 0.1m high. Surrounding the mound, but no longer visible above ground, is a quarry ditch from which material was obtained during its construction. This has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature c.2m wide.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21744

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, A History of Wiltshire in A History of Wiltshire, Vol. 1 pt 1, (1957)

Other
SU 06 NE 142, RCHM(E), Bowl barrow, (1973)
SU 17 SW 654, CAO, Site of Bowl barrow, (1989)

End of official list entry

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