Bowl barrow on Gallows Hill 180m south-east of Beacon Lodge

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The barrow on Gallows Hill survives well as a good example of its class. It is a notable landscape feature with a long tradition of local lore. Though the mound has been disturbed at some time in the past it remains largely intact with good conditions for the survival of archaeological material. There is also potential for the recovery of environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which the monument was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the rounded summit of Gallows Hill. The barrow mound survives as a substantial circular mound 23m in diameter and up to 2.3m high on its downslope northern side and 1.6m high on its uphill southern side. The barrow summit has been disturbed at some time in the past leaving it slightly hollowed to a depth of 0.3m. There is today no surface indication of the surrounding ditch from which the material for the construction of the mound would have been quarried. This however will survive as a buried feature, the width of which can be estimated as c.3m. The name Gallows Hill is associated with a place of execution called Gallows Knot which may represent the site of a gallows where offenders against forest-law were executed. Several human skeletons are said to have been discovered in a mound in this area by workmen digging for sand, while ploughing is said to have revealed human bones including one skull with marks consistent with having been decapitated by a sword. The mound is reported as serving as a gun emplacement during World War II.

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:

19075

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
1256.00.000,

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