Details

The monument includes a pair of Bronze Age bowl barrows, aligned north west to
south east, and situated on a gentle north east facing slope, 150m north of
Roustage Wood.
The north western barrow survives as a stony mound, reduced by cultivation to
10m in diameter, which stands up to 0.25m high. Originally, the mound
covered an area with a diameter of 12m. The original extent of the mound is
surrounded by a quarry ditch from which material was obtained during its
construction. Although no longer visible at ground level, having become
infilled over the years, this ditch will survive as a buried feature 2m wide.
The south eastern barrow survives as a stony mound 14m in diameter and up to
1m high. The centre of the mound contains a 2m wide depression up to 0.6m deep
which represents the site of partial excavation. The surrounding quarry ditch
survives as a buried feature 2m wide. The two quarry ditches are confluent
giving the monument the appearance of a figure eight on aerial photographs.
Records suggest that both barrows were partially excavated in 1858 when Iron
Age and Roman coins were found on and around the mounds.

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.

The pair of bowl barrows 150m north of Roustage Wood survives comparatively
well despite having been reduced by cultivation and being subject to partial
excavation. As excavation only produced Iron Age and Roman material, both
barrows are thought to contain archaeological and environmental evidence
relating to their construction and use, and the landscape in which they were
built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
Other
PRN 11,843, C.A.O., Roustage Round Barrows-Pottery, (1985)
PRN 2236, C.A.O., Roustage Round Barrows, (1985)
PRN 2245 (2), C.A.O., Roustage Round Barrows, Langley, (1985)
PRN 2245, C.A.O., Roustage Round Barrows, Langley, (1985)
PRN 2250, C.A.O., COINS, EXCAVATED, (1983)
SP 21 SE 13, R.C.H.M.(E), Round Barrows, (2), (1976)

Source: Historic England