Bowl barrow forming part of a cemetery 800m east of Kitchen Barrow

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 Early Bronze Age periods. Two of the best known and earliest recognised, with references in the 17th century, are around Avebury and Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site. In the Avebury area, the henge monument itself, the West Kennet Avenue, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure and the enigmatic Silbury Hill are well-known. Whilst the other Neolithic long barrows, the many Bronze Age round barrows and other associated sites are less well-known, together they define one of the richest and most varied areas of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual monuments in the country. 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 Stonehenge. Often occupying prominent locations, 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 examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite having been reduced by cultivation, the bowl barrow forming the southern outlier of this cemetery survives as a visible earthwork and is known from part excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated 800m east of Kitchen Barrow. It forms the southern outlier of a cemetery which includes a total of five barrows. This is one of a number of cemeteries located on the Downs. The barrow has a mound which has been reduced by cultivation in the past but which survives as a visible monument, best seen from the east. It measures 12m in diameter and up to 0.6m high. The western half of the barrow has been reduced to the point where it is no longer clearly definable at ground level. This difference in survival of the mound, which originally stood at least 0.9m high, is due to the fact that it is crossed from north east to south west by a fence line which forms the parish boundary and the extent of cultivation either side of the boundary has been variable. Surrounding the original extent of the mound is a 2m quarry ditch from which material was obtained during its construction. This survives as a buried feature below the modern ground level. Beyond the ditch lies a 1.5m wide counter-scarp bank which stands 0.3m high on the eastern side of the monument. It has been levelled to the west. During the late 1850s the barrow was partly excavated and a secondary cremation burial was found, placed on a flat stone beneath an inverted Late Bronze Age bucket urn. Excluded from the scheduling is the fence and its posts, although the land beneath 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:

21892

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, A History of Wiltshire in A History of Wiltshire, Vol. 1, 1, (1957), 148
Wiltshire Arch And Nat History Society, , Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine in Group Of Five Round Barrows E Of Kitchen Barrow Hill, Vol. 6, (1860), 325

Other
SU06SE 602, C.A.O., Bowl or Saucer barrow, (1992)
AA 72118 OCN WI 635 AM 107, Williams, S., Group of Five round barrows E of Kitchen Barrow Hill, (1992)

End of official list entry

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