Bell barrow 100m east of Stonehenge immediately south of the A344

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. 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 1600-1300 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 are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, many of which are in Wessex and around 30 of which are in the Stonehenge area. This group of monuments will provide important information on the development of this area during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.

The bell barrow 100m east of Stonehenge survives well and is known from partial excavation and geophysical survey to contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bell barrow situated 100m east of Stonehenge and south of the A344. It is intervisible with Stonehenge and has views eastwards across Stonehenge Bottom towards New King Barrows.

The barrow mound is 23m in diameter and 3m high, and is surrounded by a berm 5m wide. The mound is placed a little eccentrically. Surrounding the mound and berm is a ditch 6m wide and 0.75m deep, from which material was quarried during the barrow's construction. The overall diameter is therefore 45m. Partial excavation in the 19th century revealed a primary cremation with bone tweezers beneath an urn. Fragments of blue stone were found within the mound material.

This barrow has recently been the subject of a geophysical survey which confirmed the survival of archaeological remains.

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:

10371

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hoare, R C, Ancient History of Wiltshire, (1812), 127-128
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 207
Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine in Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine, Vol. 52, (), 218

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