The Mount bell barrow 110m south west of Mount Farm

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1009413
Date first listed:: 22-Mar-1949

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1009413
Date first listed:: 22-Mar-1949
Date of most recent amendment:: 25-Oct-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Oxfordshire
District:: West Oxfordshire (District Authority)
Parish:: Churchill
National Grid Reference:: SP 27919 23710

Reasons for Designation

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows (particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

The Mount bell barrow is a well preserved example of its class and will contain undisturbed archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument includes a well preserved Bronze Age bell barrow known as `The Mount', 110m south west of Mount Farm. It is situated on a ridge running from north east to south west with views to the east, south and west. The barrow mound measures 22m in diameter and stands up to 2.2m high. A level 2m wide berm around the base of the mound is surrounded by a quarry ditch from which material was obtained during construction of the monument. This ditch has become partially infilled over the years but remains visible at ground level as a shallow depression 4m wide and c.0.4m deep. Beyond the ditch, there are traces of an outer bank which survives up to 1m wide and 0.1m high.

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:: 21809
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
On site regarding monument history, Jeffery, PP, DISCUSSION WITH POSTMAN/LOCAL AMATEUR HISTORIAN, (1993)
On site with Mr Heywood-Lonsdale, JEFFERY, P.P., DISCUSION WITH OWNER, (1993)
PRN 3180, C.A.O., CHURCHILL, THE MOUNT, (1993)
SP 22 SE 8, Ordnance Survey, The Mount, Bowl Barrow, (1977)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Series Source Date: 1980 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Sheet SP 22 SE

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.