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 Bronze Age periods.
Two of the best known and earliest recognised areas are around Avebury and
Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site.
The area of chalk downland which surrounds Stonehenge contains one of the
densest and most varied groups of Neolithic and Bronze Age field monuments in
Britain. Included within the area are Stonehenge itself, the Stonehenge
cursus, the Durrington Walls henge, and a variety of burial monuments, many
grouped into cemeteries.
The area has been the subject of archaeological research since the 18th
century when Stukeley recorded many of the monuments and partially excavated a
number of the burial mounds. More recently, the collection of artefacts from
the surfaces of ploughed fields has supplemented the evidence for ritual and
burial by revealing the intensity of contemporary settlement and land-use. In
view of the importance of the area, all ceremonial and sepulchral monuments of
this period which retain significant archaeological remains are identified as
nationally important.
Disc barrows, the most fragile type of round barrow, are funerary monuments of
the Early Bronze Age, with most examples dating to the period 1400-1200 BC.
They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries. Disc barrows
were constructed as a circular or oval area of level ground defined by a bank
and internal ditch and containing one or more central or eccentrically located
small, low mounds, covering burials, usually in pits. The burials, normally
cremations, are frequently accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal
ornaments. It has been suggested that disc barrows were normally used for the
burial of women, although this remains unproven. However, it is likely that
the individuals buried were of high status. Disc barrows are rare nationally,
with about 250 examples, many of which are in Wessex. Twenty-nine examples are
known from the Stonehenge area. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst
prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern England, as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation.
Despite disturbance caused by military activity and cultivation, the disc
barrow 200m north of The Packway will contain archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it
was constructed.
Details
The monument includes a disc barrow situated 200m north of The Packway and
250m south of the westernmost of the three Alanbrooke's Plantations. The
barrow is now difficult to identify on the ground, being situated in an area
formerly occupied by military buildings and more recently disturbed by
cultivation. However, it is visible on aerial photographs as a vegetation mark
from which it is calculated to have an overall diameter of c.50m, including a
ditch c.3m wide and an outer bank c.6m 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.
