Reasons for Designation
Earthen barrows are the most visually spectacular survivals of a wide variety
of funerary monuments in Britain dating to the Roman period. Constructed as
steep-sided conical mounds, usually of considerable size and occasionally with
an encircling bank or ditch, they covered one or more burials, generally
believed to be those of high-ranking individuals. The burials were mainly
cremations, although inhumations have been recorded, and were often deposited
with accompanying grave goods in chambers or cists constructed of wood, tile
or stone sealed beneath the barrow mound. Occasionally the mound appears to
have been built directly over a funeral pyre. The barrows usually occur
singly, although they can be grouped into "cemeteries" of up to ten examples.
They are sited in a variety of locations but often occur near Roman roads. A
small number of barrows were of particularly elaborate construction, with
masonry revetment walls or radial internal walls. Roman barrows are rare
nationally, with less than 150 recorded examples, and are generally restricted
to lowland England with the majority in East Anglia. The earliest examples
date to the first decades of the Roman occupation and occur mainly within this
East Anglian concentration. It has been suggested that they are the graves of
native British aristocrats who chose to perpetuate aspects of Iron Age burial
practice. The majority of the barrows were constructed in the early second
century AD but by the end of that century the fashion for barrow building
appears to have ended. Occasionally the barrows were re-used when secondary
Anglo-Saxon burials were dug into the mound. Many barrows were subjected to
cursory investigation by antiquarians in the 19th century and, as little
investigation to modern standards has taken place, they remain generally
poorly understood. As a rare monument type which exhibits a wide diversity of
burial tradition all Roman barrows, unless significantly damaged, are
identified as nationally important.
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 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.
Although the Roman barrow in Graffridge Wood has been somewhat disturbed by
excavation, it survives as a substantial earthwork, and its situation
immediately adjacent to the Bronze Age bowl barrow suggests that the ritual
significance of the location was recognised during the Roman period. The bowl
barrow also survives well, and both will contain valuable archaeological
deposits, including funerary material, within the mounds and the fills of the
ditches. These will provide comparative information relating to the dates and
methods of construction of the barrows, the periods of their use, and the
religious beliefs of the builders. Environmental evidence preserved on the
buried ground surfaces beneath the mounds and in the fills of the ditches will
illustrate the changing nature of the landscape in which the barrows were set.
The Roman barrow will also retain evidence relating to the 19th century
excavation, providing interesting insights into the aims and methods of early
archaeologists.
A bell barrow some 300m to the south west (SM 27907) is a further indication
of the area's funerary significance, and a comparison of these two Bronze Age
burial mounds will provide opportunities for the study of varying funerary
rites during this period.
Details
The monument includes a Roman barrow and a Bronze Age bowl barrow located in
Graffridge Wood, 250m east of Wintergreen Cottages.
The steep-sided Roman barrow stands to a height of approximately 1.3m and is
some 18m in diameter. A depression approximately 5m across in the summit of
the barrow mound is thought to indicate the site of an excavation in the 19th
century, and a slight declivity to the south may be connected with this
investigation.
An encircling ditch c.3m-5m wide, from which material for the mound would have
been quarried, has been largely infilled but is still visible, particularly to
the north and west.
The barrow was investigated in 1869 when evidence of burning was found. This
may have represented a funeral pyre built over a rough stone platform, since
the burnt debris contained human finger bones. However, it is possible that
the cremation took place elsewhere and the remains were subsequently placed in
a small stone chamber or wood-lined grave beneath the mound. No secondary
burials were reported from this investigation but, since only a small portion
of the barrow was investigated, any such deposits will survive undisturbed.
Immediately to the east is a bowl barrow constructed during the Bronze Age.
The circular barrow mound is some 23m in diameter and 0.5m high with a smooth,
gently rounded profile. The quarry ditch is apparent as a shallow depression
some 3m wide around the northern arc of the barrow mound and will survive
elsewhere beneath the present ground surface. There is no evidence that the
barrow has been disturbed by excavation, and it is thought that significant
funerary deposits will be largely intact.
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.
