Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated 150m north west of the
intersection between the A361 and the A34(T). It occupies a prominent
position with views overlooking the surrounding landscape.
The barrow mound measures 22m in diameter and stands up to 1.2m high. It was
constructed of dry stone rubble and earth. Surrounding the mound, but no
longer visible at ground level, is a quarry ditch from which material was
obtained during its construction. This will survive as a buried feature c.2.5m
wide.
The barrow was, until the 1960's, within the open parkland of Over Norton
Park. The barrow had been incorporated as a feature within the landscaping of
the park and was known as `Druid's Barrow' in the 19th century.
Excluded from the scheduling is the wire boundary fence on the barrows
northern side, although the ground beneath it 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 Over Norton bowl barrow survives well and will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to the construction of the monument and the
landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
'A History of Oxfordshire' in Round Barrows, , Vol. Volume 2, (1939), 346

Source: Historic England