Two bowl barrows 260m north of Chalk Hill Cottage; part of the Cow Common round barrow cemetery

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.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, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The two bowl barrows 260m north of Chalk Hill Cottage survive comparatively well despite reduction in their height by cultivation, and they will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows forming part of a wider round barrow cemetery. The barrows are aligned broadly NW-SE and are situated 260m north of Chalk Hill Cottage on Cow Common, a gently sloping plateau with views to the south and east, in the area of the Cotswold Hills. The northern barrow has a mound 20m in diameter and c.0.25m high. This is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The southern barrow has a mound 21m in diameter and c.0.5m high. This mound is also surrounded by a buried ditch. Both mounds are visible on the ground as dense concentrations of stone. Part of a Bronze Age blade was found in the area of this barrow in 1975, and the area over and around these barrows has since been found to contain quantities of worked flint flakes and a piece of Bronze Age pottery.

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:

22879

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc in Gloucestershire Barrows, (1960), 132
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc in Gloucestershire Barrows, (1960), 132

End of official list entry

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