Two round barrows 520m and 550m north of Lower Chance Farm

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 two bell barrows 520m and 550m north of Lower Chance Farm are part of the larger cemetery on Blewbury Down. They are known to survive well and, despite part excavation last century will contain archaeological evidence relating to their construction and the landscape in which they were built as well as further contemporary and later burials.

Details

The monument includes two Bronze Age bell barrows within two areas of protection 520m and 550m north of Lower Chance Farm, situated on the valley floor and overlooked by four other barrows (the subject of separate schedulings) some 600m to the north west. The barrows are known locally and in early archaeological publications as `The Warrior Mounds' or `The Warrior Barrows'. Both barrows form part of a large dispersed round barrow cemetery which originally consisted of at least 15 individual barrows. The barrow mounds both survive as upstanding stone and earth mounds measuring approximately 23m in diameter and standing up to 2.5m high. The mounds were originally surrounded by gently sloping berms approximately 5m wide which have been obscured by later ploughing. Beyond the berm edges lie quarry ditches from which material was obtained during the mounds' construction. These have become infilled over the years but are known from earlier excavation and aerial photographs to survive as buried features approximately 3m wide. Excavations carried out in 1848 and 1935 in the vicinity of the barrows produced finds from several periods including Iron Age and Roman pottery fragments, the cremated bones of a woman and a child, a male skeleton, an Early Bronze Age dagger and an important selection of early Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery.

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:

28189

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Volume 2, Passmore, A D, Field Diary : Scrapbook,
Volume 2, Passmore, A D, Field Diary : Scrapbook,
PRN 9208 (2), C.A.O., Two Barrows, (1991)
PRN 9208 (1), C.A.O., Two Barrows, (1991)

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