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 majority of round barrows in the region were dug into by 19th century
antiquarians in search of burials and artifacts, leaving behind a central
depression as evidence of their work. However excavations in the latter half
of the 20th century have shown that round barrows typically contain
archaeological information that survives earlier digging. Secondary burials
tend to be located within the main body of the mound and sometimes one of
these was mistaken for the primary burial which was usual the goal of the
antiquarian. Even when the primary burial has been excavated, further
secondary burials often survive in the undisturbed surrounding part of the
mound and infilled ditch. Additional valuable information about the mound's
construction and the local environment at the time of its construction will
also survive antiquarian excavation.
Aldergate Bank round barrow, 875m north west of Wether Cote is a good example
of a small, but prominently placed burial mound which will retain important
information about Bronze Age burial practices and society in the area.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork and associated buried remains of a
prehistoric burial mound sited at the top of Aldergate Bank, overlooking
Sleightholme Dale to the east.
The round barrow is in a very prominent position and can be seen as part of
the skyline from a wide area to both east and west. It is intervisible with
another round barrow sited on the edge of the scarp at Potato Nab 750m to the
north west. With the removal of intervening trees, it may also be intervisible
with Stone Ruckles round barrow 1.2km to the WNW. Both these round barrows are
the subject of separate schedulings.
The monument survives as a 10m diameter mound sited on slightly sloping
ground, centred 7m west of the sharp break of slope down into the dale. It
stands 1m high on its downhill eastern side and 0.3m high on its uphill side
with a central depression 3m in diameter and up to 0.2m deep. This depression
is thought to be the result of an unrecorded excavation in the past. From a
surface inspection, the round barrow appears to be of earthen construction
with a large proportion of cobble sized stones. Excavation of other examples
of round barrows in the region have shown that even where no encircling
depression is discernible on the modern ground surface, ditches immediately
around the outside of the mound frequently survive as infilled features,
containing additional archaeological deposits. A margin to allow for such an
infilled ditch up to 2m wide is thus also included within the monument.
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.
