Bronze Age enclosure and bowl barrow 100m west of Longbarrow Cross Roads on Winterbourne Stoke Down

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 the 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.

Enclosures provide important evidence of land use and agricultural practices in the prehistoric period. The presence of these remains and their relationship with field systems and settlements are integral to understanding the character and development of downland agriculture. Broadly contemporary with the enclosure is the bowl barrow, a funerary monument dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age. Bowl barrows were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, normally 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 variety of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally and at least 320 in the Stonehenge area. Despite having been previously levelled by cultivation and more recently disturbed by road improvements, the enclosure and bowl barrow 100m west of Longbarrow Cross Roads are known from a recent geophysical survey to contain archaeological remains which will relate to the monument and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas, includes a Bronze Age enclosure and a levelled bowl barrow located 100m west of Longbarrow Cross Roads on Winterbourne Stoke Down, with views south east across Wilsford Down and Normanton Down. The enclosure is situated to the south west of the Winterbourne Stoke linear round barrow cemetery which extends some 500m along a ridge to the north east. It may be associated with a Bronze Age settlement located 100m to the east which was removed during construction of the present roundabout in 1967. The monument is no longer visible on the ground being located in an area previously disturbed by cultivation and more recently by improvement works on the A303. The enclosure is, however, visible on aerial photographs and was investigated by a recent geophysical survey. It is 75m long and 68m wide, with a possible entrance to the south. Some internal features were also recorded during the survey. A small scatter of burnt flint was recovered from both within the enclosure and to the east of it. The central section of the enclosure has been removed by the downcutting of the A303. The levelled bowl barrow lies immediately to the north west of the enclosure. The mound is no longer visible on the ground. The geophysical survey, however, revealed a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the barrow. This survives as a buried feature of 20m overall diameter. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

10484

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other

John Samuals Archaeological Consultants, A303 Amesbury - Berwick Down, (1993)
John Samuals Archaeological Consultants, A303 Amesbury - Berwick Down, (1993)

End of official list entry

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