Details

The monument includes a small Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on the crest of
a north facing slope, 400m north west of Ranger's Lodge in Cornbury Park.
The barrow mound survives as a visible earthwork 11m in diameter and up to
0.3m high. Surrounding the mound, but no longer visible at ground level, is a
quarry ditch from which material was obtained during its construction. This
has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide.
The barrow is hidden in woodland and, unlike many others in the area, it does
not appear to have been excavated during the 19th century.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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.

This barrow north west of Ranger's Lodge is a surviving example of a regional
group of small barrows of which a number are known in the vicinity of Cornbury
Park and Wychwood Forest. It has survived well, despite its size, due to its
location in wooded parkland. It has not been disturbed by excavation and will
contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction
and the landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
Other
PRN 3390, C.A.O., Round Barrow, (1985)
SP 31 NW 17, R.C.H.M.(E), ? Round Barrow, (1976)

Source: Historic England