Four bowl barrows on Long Hill, 220m west of Mere Castle

Reasons for Designation

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 surviving 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.

The bowl barrows on Long Hill are comparatively well preserved examples of their class and will contain archaeological deposits providing information about Bronze Age beliefs, economy and environment. Two of the barrows are unusually located at the base of the hill.

Details

The monument, which lies within three areas of protection, includes the remains of four bowl barrows, which lie to the north of Mere on a chalk ridge known as Long Hill, 220m west of Mere Castle. The barrows range in diameter from 8m to 10m and survive up to 1.7m in height. Each is surrounded by a quarry ditch from which material to construct its mound was derived. These ditches have become infilled over the years, but will survive as buried features approximately 2m wide. Two of the barrows are located in a prominent position on the crest of the hill, while two are more unusually sited at the base of the southern slope, a third slightly irregular mound at the base of the hill cannot be positively identified as an additional barrow and has not been included in the scheduling. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

32611

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 182

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.