Bowl barrow 50m north of Barrow Farm

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.

Despite cultivation of much of the site over many years and partial excavation in 1906, part of the Barrow Farm monument remains intact and has potential for the recovery of archaeological evidence for the nature and duration of use of the monument and the environment within which it was constructed. The significance of the monument is enhanced by the fact that numerous other barrow mounds survive in the area, as well as additional evidence for contemporary settlement. This illustrates the intensity with which the area was settled during the Bronze Age period.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set on a gentle south-facing slope in an
area of undulating chalk downland. The barrow mound survives as an earthwork
0.3m high and c.40m in diameter. Although no longer visible at ground level
a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the
monument, surrounds the mound. This has filled in over the years and now
survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The site was partially excavated by
Cunnington in 1906 (see sources). Worked flints, believed to
be contemporary with the construction and use of the monument, are visible on
the cultivated surface of the mound.

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.


This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 17/01/2013

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

12258

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Antiquaries Journal in Antiquaries Journal, Vol. 5, ()
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 25, (1959)

Websites
PastScape: Manton Barrow, accessed from http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=220499
Wiltshire and Swindon Sites and Monument Record, accessed from http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/smr/getsmr.php?id=13937

End of official list entry

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