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Ten bowl barrows, five disc barrows, a bell barrow, a pond barrow and a saucer barrow forming the Wilsford round barrow cemetery

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1010874
Date first listed:: 22-Jun-1925

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1010874
Date first listed:: 22-Jun-1925
Date of most recent amendment:: 01-Mar-1995

Location

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

District:: Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Wilsford cum Lake
National Grid Reference:: SU 11893 39787

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. Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (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 and occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where investigation beyond the round barrows has occurred, contemporary or later 'flat' burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland England with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments, as is the case both here and at Avebury. Often occupying prominent positions, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, while their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities.

All types of round barrow are present within this monument. All are funerary monuments, and all types can occur either in isolation or as in this case, in cemeteries. Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow date from 1600-1200 BC. They were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials often in pits and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials in bell barrows appear to be those of aristocratic individuals and are also frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery vessels. Bell barrows are rare nationally with only 250 examples known, of which 30 are located within the Stonehenge area. Saucer barrows date from the Early Bronze Age. 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 examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. Ten examples are known from the Stonehenge area. Pond barrows are ceremonial or funerary monuments of the Early to Middle Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1500 and 1000 BC. The term `barrow' is something of a misnomer as, rather than a mound, they were constructed as regular circular depressions with an embanked rim and, occasionally an outer ditch or an entrance through the bank. Pond barrows are the rarest form of round barrow, with about 60 examples recorded nationally and a distribution largely confined to Wiltshire and Dorset, many of which are in the Stonehenge area. As few examples have been excavated, they have a particularly high value for future study. Due to their rarity, all identified pond barrows will normally be considered to be of national importance. Disc barrows date from 1600-1200 BC. They 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 are normally cremations and are frequently accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Disc barrows are rare nationally with only 250 examples known, of which 29 are located within the Stonehenge area. Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, date from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, normally ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a variety of burial practices. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally and around 260 in the Stonehenge area. The Wilsford round barrow cemetery survives as an outstanding example of its class, exhibiting fine examples of all the major barrow types. Partial excavation has shown that the barrows forming the cemetery contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Despite the levelling of five of the barrows by cultivation, aerial photographs have shown that the ditch fills survive undisturbed, while deposits located on the Bronze Age ground surface will survive beneath the area disturbed by cultivation.

Details

The monument includes 18 round barrows forming the Wilsford round barrow cemetery, a cemetery aligned broadly east-west and occupying an east facing slope north of Westfield Farm with views eastwards across the Avon valley and northwards towards Normanton Down and Coneybury Hill. The cemetery consists of ten bowl barrows, five disc barrows, a bell barrow, a pond barrow and a saucer barrow. The bell barrow forms the western end of the cemetery, and has a mound 20m in diameter and 2m high, surrounded by a raised berm 5m wide and a ditch 6m wide by 0.75m deep, giving an overall diameter of 42m. Partial excavation in the 19th century revealed a primary cremation with various objects including a battle axe and a flanged axe. The saucer barrow is located c.60m north of the mid-point of the cemetery, and has a mound c.17m in diameter and 0.4m high, surrounded by a ditch c.2m wide which has become infilled over the years. It is surrounded by an outer bank which is now difficult to detect, but the barrow is visible on aerial photographs, from which its overall diameter including the outer bank is calculated to be c.30m. South of the saucer barrow is a pond barrow, close to the mid-point of the cemetery. It has a central depression c.18m in diameter and c.0.75m deep, surrounded by an outer bank c.4m wide and 0.5m high, giving an overall diameter of 26m. The disc barrow forming the southern boundary of the monument has a mound 10m in diameter and 0.75m high, surrounded by a berm 10m wide, a ditch 5m wide by 0.2m deep and an outer bank 4m wide by 0.4m high. The other four disc barrows are now difficult to identify on the ground, but all are represented on Ordnance Survey maps and aerial photographs, and their overall diameters are known to range from 40m to 70m. Three of the disc barrows form the north eastern section of the cemetery, and survive as slight earthworks. From aerial photographs it is clear that their outer banks are confluent. All five were partially excavated in the 19th century, and three produced primary cremations. The ten bowl barrows have mounds that range in diameter from 13m to 42m. The bowl barrow that forms the most north easterly member of the cemetery is now difficult to identify, but the mounds of the others are visible and range in height from 0.3m to 2.1m. All are surrounded by ditches, from which material was quarried during their construction. These have become infilled over the years, and survive mostly as buried features but are visible as slight earthworks in three examples. The ditches range in width from 1m to 6m. All ten bowl barrows were partially excavated in the 19th century and most revealed burials, both inhumations and cremations, accompanied by a variety of objects including bronze tools and weapons, and pottery vessels. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included. The north-south track which crosses part of the eastern section of the monument is included in the scheduling.

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:: 10356
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 211-212
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 225
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 220
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 220
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 224
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 220
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 220
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 220
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 199
Hoare, R C, Ancient History of Wiltshire, (1812), 209
Hoare, R C, Ancient History of Wiltshire, (1812), 208
Hoare, R C, Ancient History of Wiltshire, (1812), 206
Hoare, R C, Ancient History of Wiltshire, (1812), 207
'Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine.' in , , Vol. 55, (), 30

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.