Saucer barrow 90m east of Ell Clough

Reasons for Designation

Saucer barrows are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1800 and l200 BC. They occur either in isolation or in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of round barrows). They were constructed as a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound covering one or more burials, usually in a pit. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Saucer barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, with about 60 known examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. The presence of grave goods within the barrows 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. As a rare and fragile form of round barrow, all identified saucer barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite limited antiquarian investigation of the monument's centre, the saucer barrow 90m east of Ell Clough survives reasonably well and is a rare example of this class of monument in north west England. This investigation located human remains, and further evidence of interments will exist within the barrow and upon the old landsurface beneath.

Details

The monument includes a saucer barrow located in the bend of a track on enclosed moorland 90m east of Ell Clough. It includes a circular mound of earth and stones 14m in diameter and up to 0.4m high which is surrounded by a ditch 1.5m wide by 0.2m deep. Flanking this ditch is an outer bank measuring up to 2.5m wide and 0.2m-1m high. At the centre of the mound there is a circular hollow 2.5m in diameter by 0.25m deep which marks the site of a limited antiquarian excavation undertaken in 1887 during which charcoal and burnt human bones were found.

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:

23727

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Barnes, B, Man and the changing landscape, (1982), 100
Trans Lancs & Chesh Antiq Soc in Proceedings-Stone Circles and Ancient Relicts at Extwistle, Vol. II, (1893), 159

Other
Darvill, T., MPP Single Monument Class Descriptions - Fancy Barrows, (1988)

End of official list entry

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