Bowl barrow, known as Woad round barrow, 450m north east of Cutsdeanhill Barn

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 barrow 450m north east of Cutsdeanhill Barn survives well as a prominent visible mound. The mound will contain evidence for primary and secondary burials, along with grave goods, which will provide information about the ways in which prehistoric peoples buried their dead and about the size of the local community at that time. The mound will also preserve environmental information in the buried ground surface, predating the construction of the barrow and giving an insight into the landscape in which the monument was set. The mound and its surrounding ditch will also contain environmental evidence in the form of organic remains, which will relate both to the barrow and the landscape within which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow known as Woad round barrow, standing on the crest of a hill in the Cotswolds, 450m north east of Cutsdeanhill Barn. The barrow mound measures 26m in diameter and is 1.2m high and is surrounded by a ditch which has become infilled over the years and can no longer be seen at ground level. The ditch will, however, survive as a buried feature about 3m wide. It is thought that the barrow may be the `Wad Bearch' or `Barrow where woad grows' which is mentionned in a charter of AD 974. In 1979 24 sherds of Roman pottery, including between two and four small fragments of Samian ware, were found near the round barrow by the Ordnance Survey.

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:

32342

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc in Gloucestershire Barrows, Vol. LXXIX, (1960), 42; 111

Other
Rawes, B and Rawes, B, A Listing of Romano-British finds from in and around Glos., (1995)

End of official list entry

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