Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow adjacent to an Anglo-Saxon
hlaew or burial mound and its associated three sided enclosure. The site is
located on a broad ridge on top of Shipton Down, 350m north of Downs Lodge.
The bowl barrow has been partially reduced by cultivation but survives as a
visible mound 17m in diameter and 0.5m high. The barrow was constructed as a
stone and earth cairn and is clearly visible on aerial photographs. The barrow
mound was used as an Ordnance Survey minor triangulation station in the late
19th century.
The Anglo-Saxon burial mound, situated 30m to the south east, has an earth
and stone mound constructed in two tiers. The base measures 30m in diameter
and stands 1.5m high while the upper tier measures 17m in diameter and stands
1.3m high. The mound therefore has an overall height of 2.8m.
Following the discovery of human bones in the top of the mound a partial
excavation was carried out in 1976. This located the remains of two secondary
burials containing human skeletons accompanied by an iron buckle. This was
dated to the late Anglo-Saxon period (10th-11th centuries).
To the north west, south west and south east of the mound lies a three sided
enclosure, the open fourth side of which is formed by the barrow. The sides of
the enclosure are all c.63m long and each include a 3m wide and 1m high
external bank and a partially infilled ditch c.2m wide. The northern and
western sides have been incorporated into the layout of the modern field
boundaries while the southern side of the enclosure has been levelled by
cultivation, although the ditch remains visible as a partially infilled
feature 0.2m deep.
Excluded from the scheduling are the post and wire fences running along the
north and west sides of the earthwork, although the ground beneath 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.

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 bowl barrow forming part of this monument survives well despite having
been partially reduced by cultivation and will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to its construction and the landscape in which
it was built.

A hlaew is a burial monument of Anglo-Saxon or Viking date and comprising a
hemisperical mound of earth and redeposited bedrock constructed over a primary
burial or burials. These were usually inhumations, buried in a grave cut into
the subsoil beneath the mound, but cremations placed on the old ground surface
beneath the mound have also been found. Hlaews may occur in pairs or in small
groups; a few have accompanying flat graves. Constructed during the pagan
Saxon and Viking periods for individuals of high rank, they served as visible
and ostentatious markers of their social position. Some were associated with
territorial claims and appear to have been specifically located to mark
boundaries. They often contain objects which give information on the range of
technological skill and trading contacts of the period. Only between 50 and 60
hlaews have been positively identified in England. As a rare monument class
all positively identified examples are considered worthy of preservation.

The Shipton Barrow hlaew is a particularly well preserved example of its
class, the understanding of which has been enhanced by limited partial
excavations. In addition, its association with the earlier Bronze Age bowl
barrow and the existence of its banked enclosure are unusual features.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Chambers, R A, 'Oxford Archaeological Unit Newsletter' in A Secondary Burial on Shipton Barrow, , Vol. 9, (1977)
Other
Included on SM 21801 file, Jeffery, P.P., Profile and Measurements - Shipton Barrow HLAEW, (1993)
PRN 1451, C.A.O., Shipton Barrow, (1976)
PRN 2235, C.A.O., Probable Bowl Barrow (Ploughed), (1977)
PRN 2235, C.A.O., Shipton Round Barrow, (1977)
PRN 3871, C.A.O., EARTHWORK AT SHIPTON BARROW, (1977)
PRN 4448, C.A.O., Two Burials, (1977)
See CA938667F attached, R.C.H.M.(E),
SP 21 NE 19, Ordnance Survey, Probable Bowl Barrow (Ploughed), (1977)
Title: Ordnance Survey 25" Series
Source Date: 1919
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
25"
Title: Swinbrook and Widford CP
Source Date: 1980
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
1:10000

Source: Historic England