Bowl Barrow, part of the round barrow cemetery south of Codford Down

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC).They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to thirty 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,occasionally associated with earlier long barrows.Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed.Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain,with a marked concentration in Wessex.In some cases,they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges.Often occupying prominent locations,they are a major historic element in the modern landscape,whilst their diversity and their 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.Despite having been spread by ploughing this bowl barrow,which is part of the round barrow cemetery south of Codford Down,survives as a good example of its class of monument.It is known from partial excavation to contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the people who built it and the landscape in which they lived.Secondary use of the barrow in the early medieval period indicates the significance of this barrow some 3000 years after it was built.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, part of a round barrow cemetery below Codford Down,on the western side of the valley of the Chitterne Brook.The cemetery originally contained one bell barrow and ten bowl barrows.Of these the bell barrow and five bowl barrows survive as upstanding earthworks.This barrow,which lies 130m east of the remainder of the cemetery,the subject of a separate scheduling,is situated on a slight rise above the main group adjacent to a ploughed out lynchet which forms part of a surrounding prehistoric field system.The mound of the barrow is thirty metres across and one metre high.It is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction.This has become infilled over the years and survives as a buried feature three metres wide.Partial excavation by William Cunnington in the early 19th century revealed a primary cremation in a cist overlain by an inhumation with associated grave goods interpreted as a secondary Saxon burial.The barrow is illustrated in Colt Hoare's `The Ancient History of Wiltshire' Volume 1 published in 1812.MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.It includes a two 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:

31666

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Colt Hoare, R, The Ancient History of Wiltshire: Volume I, (1812), 79

End of official list entry

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