Bowl barrow 1.2km WSW of Cheverton Farm: part of a round barrow cemetery on Cheverton Down

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.

Despite being ploughed periodically, the bowl barrow on Cheverton Down will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow lying on the south side of the slope of an east facing ridge. It is situated in a downland setting with deep valleys to the north and south. The barrow has a mound which measures 20m in diameter and stands to 0.2m high on its north side and 1.5m high on its south side. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. This can no longer be seen at ground level, but survives as a buried feature c.4m wide. The lynchet of a field system which lies northeast-southwest abuts the barrow on its north side.

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:

22007

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
IWCAC (DLM) 1989/89B1-17,18/SMR AP file,
IWCAC (DLM)/86C-2-Frame 13 SZ4484/AP file,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.