Three bowl barrows 640m north west of Hare Park Stud

Reasons for Designation

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 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.

The three bowl barrows 640m north west of Hare Park Stud are some of the few surviving examples of a formerly extensive cemetery in the chalklands of south east Cambridgeshire, now largely destroyed. This cemetery is one of the most substantial indicators of prehistoric activity in the region and is therefore a focus for the study of prehistoric society. As a result of part excavation at the beginning of the 20th century, the remains are quite well understood while significant archaeological deposits have been left intact.

Details

The monument includes a group of three bowl barrows situated on a south west facing chalk spur, approximately 300m south west of the A11/A45 junction. The barrows have been reduced and spread by ploughing and are no longer visible above ground, however the ditches, from which earth was dug and used in the construction of the mounds, have become infilled over the years and survive as buried features visible on aerial photographs. Approximately 650m north west of Hare Park Stud are the remains of a barrow measuring about 30m in diameter. The remains of two further barrows lie 70m and 60m south of it; they measure approximately 25m in diameter and 20m in diameter respectively. One of the three barrows is believed to have been partly excavated in 1908, revealing the skeleton of a young person as well as an urn containing the cremated remains of children. Artefacts found in the barrow include a second urn, a flint arrow head and scrapers, as well as a thimble and a pottery fragment, possibly of Roman date. Remains of fires, which may have been lit as part of the funerary ceremony, were found around the margins of the barrow.

This barrow group lies within an extensive area of burial mounds scattered upon the chalk grounds of south east Cambridgeshire. In the close vicinity are the bowl barrow groups 270m north of Hare Park Stud and at Allington Hill, which are the subjects of separate schedulings.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 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:

33342

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Allix, C, Hughes, T, PCAS in On a Tumulus Recently Explored on Newmarket Heath, (1908)
Allix, C, Hughes, T, PCAS in On a Tumulus Recently Explored on Newmarket Heath, (1908), 314-24

Other
CUCAP RC8 - EA 72, (1982)
RCHM, NE Cambs, (1972)
RCHM, NE Cambs, (1972)
CUCAP: RC8 - EA 72, (1982)

End of official list entry

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