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.
Details
The monument includes four bowl barrows which form a cluster on the western
side of the Barlings-Stainfield barrow cemetery, located on a sand and gravel
spur at the north eastern edge of the Witham peat fens. The barrows are
visible under pasture as roughly circular earthen mounds, three of them
grouped closely together at a distance of c.55m to the west of the fourth.
Together, the barrows occupy an area with maximum dimensions of c.130m
east-west by 70m north-south. The largest mound, which is the most northerly
of the western group, stands to a height of c.0.65m above the modern ground
surface and covers an area c.26m in diameter. An irregular hollow in the top
of it, measuring c.0.3m deep and up to 10m in length, marks the site of an old
investigation. The second and third mounds, which overlap one another, lie
respectively c.8m south west and c.15m south west of the first, covering areas
c.21m and c.24m in diameter and both standing to a height of c.0.5m. A hollow
measuring c.8m by 5m in the top of the third and most southerly mound
indicates that this also has undergone a limited exploration. The fourth
mound, which lies due east of the first described, is c.0.8m in height, with
an asymmetrical profile, slightly flattened on the south side, and covers an
area c.22m in diameter. It is probable that all four mounds are encircled by
ditches which survive as buried features, although no trace of these is
visible on the surface. Borehole samples have shown that the ground surface on
a level with the base of the barrow mounds, together with the lower part of
the mounds themselves, has been covered by later alluvial deposits and peat
and lies at a depth of between 0.5m and 0.7m below the present ground surface.
A further eleven barrows, which formed part of the same original cemetery, are
the subject of a separate scheduling centred 300m to the east.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20809
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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.
End of official list entry
