Bell barrow 650m north west of Lots Barn

Overview

Heritage Category: Scheduled Monument

List Entry Number: 1011983

Date first listed: 25-Feb-1948

Date of most recent amendment: 20-Mar-1995

Location

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

National Grid Reference: SP 10835 28537

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 bell barrow 650m north west of Lots Barn survives comparatively well and is known from partial excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument, the landscape in which it was constructed, and its later reuse.

Details

The monument includes a bell barrow situated in the Cotswolds, on the upper part of a gentle south facing slope with views across valleys to the south, west and east. The barrow, which is sometimes known as Bevans Quarry round barrow, is situated within an area known as Barrow Field and was partially excavated by H E O`Neil in 1964. The barrow had a central mound 3.5m in diameter and c.0.6m high, composed of turf and partially covered with stone slabs. Within the body of the mound were two human cremations and, underlying the mound, a rock-cut pit which contained an earlier human cremation and an ash deposit. The turf mound was bordered by a clay bank up to 3.8m in width, c.0.6m high and also partially overlain by stone slabs. The clay bank contained a further three human cremations. Other finds from within the body of the mound include a fragment of a polished stone axe, five flint scrapers and a flint knife dating from the Bronze Age, several sherds of Bronze Age bucket urns and two Roman coins dating from the fourth century AD. Surrounding the clay bank was a berm or gently sloping platform 6m wide. This was surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level, as it has become infilled over the years, but it is known from excavation to survive as a buried feature at least 3m wide. Later reuse of the site is suggested by the recovery of six sherds of Roman pottery from the upper silts of the ditch during the excavations in 1964.

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: 22920

Legacy System: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-40
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-17
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 17-18
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-40
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-40
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-40
O`Neil, H E, 'Trans of Bristol and Gloucester Arch Soc' in Bevan`s Quarry Round Barrow, Temple Guiting, , Vol. 86, (1967), 16-40

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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.