Round barrow 650m east of Carrine

Reasons for Designation

Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in 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 round barrow 650m east of Carrine survives reasonably well. Although the mound has been truncated and dug into relatively recently, it remains substantially intact, as will parts of the underlying old land surface and any surviving original deposits associated with the mound and old land surface. Its location as an outlier of a wider ridge-top barrow cemetery illustrates the important role of topography in Bronze Age funerary activity.

Details

The monument includes a prehistoric round barrow, situated on Carrine Common on a gentle slope above a small stream, at the base of an eastern spur of a ridge north of Carnon Downs. The barrow has a mound of earth and small stones with a low, regularly curving profile, approximately 15.9m in diameter and 1.1m high. It has been truncated slightly by a minor road on the south east side. An area of the mound has also been partly removed on the north west side, where irregular excavations extend some 5.2m into the mound. This barrow is associated with others beyond this scheduling, and forms an outlier of a wider ridge-top barrow cemetery. The modern road surface on the south east side of the barrow is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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:

32912

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Henderson, C, Parochial Antiquities in Parochial Antiquities, Vol. 5, (1915), 130

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map Source Date: 1907 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Map Source Date: 1880 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
Mercer, R, AM7, (1970)
Letter 42, Thomas, R, Letter to the West Briton, (1852)
SW 74 SE 11, Palmer, J, Ordnance Survey Index Card, (1965)

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.