Details

The monument includes two adjacent bowl barrows, orientated east-west and set
on the floor of a shallow dry valley in an area of undulating chalk downland.
The eastern barrow mound is 22m across and the western mound 17m across; both
are 0.5m high and surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried
during construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years
but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The eastern mound was partially
excavated by Passmore, finds including a primary cremation burial and part of
an incense cup lying 1m away.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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 Shipley Bottom barrows survive well and, as a pair of contemporary burial
monuments, could provide a more detailed insight into the social organisation
and economy of Bronze Age communities in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Passmore, , 'Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine' in Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine, , Vol. 27, ()

Source: Historic England