Two bowl barrows 550m south west of Haydon House

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.

Despite disturbance to the mounds from past quarrying, the two bowl barrows 550m south west of Haydon House will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows located on Horrington Hill, a long chalk promontory aligned broadly from north east to south west above West Horrington, at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills. The barrows, which are believed to be of Late Neolithic to Bronze Age date are adjoined from north east to south west are situated on the summit of the hill towards its western end. The area in which the barrows are located has been considerably disturbed in the past by quarrying activity which has caused some disturbance to the surface of their mounds; and it is now difficult therefore to accurately survey the barrows at ground level. However, previous fieldwork has recorded the barrow mounds as each being approximately 13m in diameter and up to a maximum of 0.5m high. Aerial photographs show the mounds to be surrounded by a single continuous ditch from which material would have been quarried during their construction. Although not now visible at ground level, this ditch survives as a buried feature about 1.5m wide.

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:

34868

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1971), 117
Grinsell, L, Proceedings of Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1971), 117
Tratman, E K, Proc Univ Bristol Spel Soc in Fieldwork, (1938)
Tratman, E K, Proc Univ Bristol Spel Soc in Fieldwork, (1938)

End of official list entry

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