Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 500m south of Upton Scudamore

A Scheduled Monument in Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.224 / 51°13'26"N

Longitude: -2.1941 / 2°11'38"W

OS Eastings: 386538.099285

OS Northings: 147215.113877

OS Grid: ST865472

Mapcode National: GBR 1TZ.B26

Mapcode Global: VH97G.XHDK

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 500m south of Upton Scudamore

Scheduled Date: 9 October 1981

Last Amended: 11 February 1992

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1010398

English Heritage Legacy ID: 12293

County: Wiltshire

Civil Parish: Upton Scudamore

Built-Up Area: Upton Scudamore

Traditional County: Wiltshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Wiltshire

Church of England Parish: Upton Scudamore St Mary the Virgin

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set on level ground close to a tributary
of the River Wylye. The barrow mound is 14m in diameter and stands to a
height of 1.5m. 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 site was partially excavated by Colt-Hoare in the 19th century. Finds
included a cremation burial and a later inhumation with a small dagger.

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.

Despite partial excavation of the bowl barrow south of Upton Scudamore, much
of the monument remains intact, survives comparatively well and has potential
for the recovery of further archaeological remains in addition to
environmental evidence relating to the period during which the monument was
constructed. The significance of the monument is enhanced by the fact that
numerous other round barrows survive in the area as well as additional
evidence for contemporary settlement. Such evidence provides a clear
indication of the extent to which the area was settled during the Bronze Age
period.

Source: Historic England

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