Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow located on level ground 25m north of St
Lawrence's Church and known as `Priddy Glebe Barrow'. The barrow mound is 25m
in diameter and c.1.5m high at its highest point. Although no longer visible
at ground level a ditch, from which material was quarried during the
construction of the monument, surrounds the mound. This has become infilled
over the years but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The ditch is
crossed by a hedge on the south and west sides which separates the monument
from the present churchyard.
The barrow was partially excavated in 1894 by the Rev T Palmer, then Vicar
of the parish of Priddy. A burial aligned west to east and possibly
contemporary with the construction of the monument was found facing south.
Also a secondary cremation burial was recorded. Finds from the site included
a bronze knife or dagger, a bronze awl, and some worked flints. The finds are
now in the Wells Museum.

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 barrow 25m north of St Lawrence's Church survives comparatively well
despite an area of localised disturbance caused by the Rev T Palmer's
partial excavation in 1894. Although it is possible that the primary burial
has been excavated, it is believed that secondary burials, the fills of the
ditches, and some of the barrow mound remain intact. The barrow will
therefore contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating both to
the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.
The importance of the monument is enhanced by its location in an area which
supports a concentration of contemporary burial monuments, thus giving an
indication of the nature and scale of human occupation during the Bronze Age
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Barnes, E E, 'Wells AR' in Barrows of the Neighbourhood, , Vol. Vol 23, (1911)
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural Hist Soc' in Somerset Barrows Part II, , Vol. Vol 115, (1971)
Palmer, T, 'Wells Archaeological Review' in Wells Archaeological Review, , Vol. Vol 8, (1896)
Tratman, E K, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in A Stake Circle Barrow - Priddy, , Vol. 11 (3), (1968)
Tratman, EK, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society, , Vol. Vol 3(1), (1927)
Wicks, A T, 'Wells Archaeological Review' in Barrows on Mendip, , Vol. Vol 26, (1914)

Source: Historic England