An enclosure and two bowl barrows 180m east of Putts Corner, forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Gittisham Hill

Reasons for Designation

Enclosures are discrete plots of land enclosed by banks of stone and earth which date from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) into the Roman period (AD 43 - 450), although earlier and later examples also exist. They were constructed as stock pens or as protected areas for crop growing, and were sometimes subdivided to accommodate stock and hut circle dwellings for farmers or herdsmen. The size and form of enclosures may therefore vary considerably depending on their particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and relationship to other monument classes provide important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices in the past. A substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The enclosure on Gittisham Hill is unusual in that it lacks any currently recognised local parallels. The physical relationship between the enclosure and the barrows increases the archaeological potential of this monument. Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.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 a considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later `flat' burials have often been revealed between the barrow mounds. Round barrow cemeteries often occupy prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The Gittisham Hill barrow cemetery comprises the western area of one of the most extensive and densest concentrations of barrows in Devon. Limited archaeological excavations of some of the barrows in this concentration have revealed that they show a remarkable diversity in size and form, and in the nature of their funerary contents. The barrow in the enclosure survives in good condition and is one of the smaller barrows in the Gittisham Hill cemetery. The eastern barrow, although partly disturbed by an antiquarian investigation, has the entire central cairn and base of the barrow intact. These barrows are two of 13 that form the Gittisham Hill barrow cemetery.

Details

The monument is situated in south east Devon, 8km south of Honiton, on the high ground of an extensive Greensand plateau where it forms the watershed of the south-flowing River Sid. It includes an enclosure, two bowl barrows forming part of the Gittisham Hill round barrow cemetery, and the archaeologically sensitive area of ground between them. It is situated within an area of heathland on level ground on Gittisham Hill. The enclosure consists of two discontinuous concentric banks defining a horseshoe-shaped area 50m north-south by 45m east-west. The banks survive to a width of between 1m and 3.5m, and vary in height correspondingly between 0.1m and 0.3m. The banks are at their most substantial in the south west sector of the enclosure. The distance between the banks varies between 2m-6m, and the slightly lower ground surface suggests the presence of an infilled ditch. On the east side no earthworks are visible and the banks appear to have been destroyed in that area. The overall size of the enclosure is about 70m north-south by 60m east-west. The enclosure was discovered early in 1982 and was later surveyed when the heather had been swaled. A small bowl barrow consisting of a mound of evenly rounded profile, 11m in diameter and c.1m in height, lies in the SSW of the interior of the enclosure. There is no evidence that it was surrounded by a ditch. The south west edge of the mound lies on the alignment of the inner bank of the enclosure. A larger barrow consisting of a mound of evenly rounded profile, 24m in diameter and c.1.8m in height, surrounded by a ditch 3m wide and 0.3m deep, lies 10m to the south east of the enclosure. Antiquarian investigation in 1869 when a trench was cut into the centre of the mound from the south, revealed that the mound consisted of a layer of dark soil over a cairn of flints. The cairn was not investigated and the excavation trench was subsequently backfilled. The area of ground between the enclosure and the south eastern barrow is archaeologically sensitive in that it will contain burials, evidence of related activity, and archaeological evidence for a chronological relationship between the enclosure and the barrow.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

27407

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Quinnel, N, Gittisham Hill Ringwork, (1982)
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Barrows of South and East Devon, Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Simpson, S, Noble, S, Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report in Archaeological Survey & Management Study of Areas of E Devon, (1993)
Simpson, S, Noble, S, Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report in Archaeological Survey & Management Study of Areas of E Devon, (1993)
Fox, A, Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society in The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis, Vol. 4, (1952), 1-19
Hutchinson, , Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association in Report on Barrows near Sidmouth, Vol. 12, (1880)
Kirwan, R, Report of the Transactions of the Devonshire Association in Notes On The Prehistoric Archaeology of East Devon, Part III, Vol. 4, (1870), 295-304

End of official list entry

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