Details

The monument includes a disc barrow and a pond barrow located 350m NNW of
Greenland Farm, situated on a gentle south facing slope. The barrows are
aligned east to west, with the pond barrow to the west and the disc barrow to
the east. The central depression of the pond barrow is c.0.5m deep, c.20m in
diameter and is surrounded by an outer bank which survives as a slight
earthwork up to c.10m wide, giving the barrow an overall diameter of c.40m.
The mound of the disc barrow survives as a slight earthwork 0.4m high and 18m
in diameter and is surrounded by a berm, quarry ditch and outer bank. The
ditch and outer bank are now difficult to identify on the ground, but are
visible as soilmarks on aerial photographs from which the overall diameter of
the barrow is calculated to be c.60m.
The metalled road which crosses the bank of the pond barrow on its western
side is excluded from the scheduling, as are all fence posts, but the ground
beneath these features 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

A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for
ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
Two of the best known and earliest recognised areas are around Avebury and
Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site.
The area of chalk downland which surrounds Stonehenge contains one of the
densest and most varied groups of Neolithic and Bronze Age field monuments in
Britain. Included within the area are Stonehenge itself, the Stonehenge
cursus, the Durrington Walls henge, and a variety of burial monuments, many
grouped into cemeteries.
The area has been the subject of archaeological research since the 18th
century when Stukeley recorded many of the monuments and partially excavated a
number of the burial mounds. More recently, the collection of artefacts from
the surfaces of ploughed fields has supplemented the evidence for ritual and
burial by revealing the intensity of contemporary settlement and land-use. In
view of the importance of the area, all ceremonial and sepulchral monuments of
this period which retain significant archaeological remains are identified as
nationally important.
Disc barrows, the most fragile type of round barrow, are funerary monuments of
the Early Bronze Age, with most examples dating to the period 1400-1200 BC.
They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries. Disc barrows
were constructed as a circular or oval area of level ground defined by a bank
and internal ditch and containing one or more central or eccentrically located
small, low mounds, covering burials, usually in pits. The burials, normally
cremations, are frequently accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal
ornaments. It has been suggested that disc barrows were normally used for the
burial of women, although this remains unproven. However, it is likely that
the individuals buried were of high status. Disc barrows are rare nationally,
with about 250 examples, many of which are in Wessex. Twenty-nine examples are
known from the Stonehenge area. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst
prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern England, as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation.

Pond barrows are ceremonial or funerary monuments of the Early to Middle
Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1500 and 1000BC. The term 'barrow'
is something of a misnomer as, rather than a mound, they were constructed as
regular circular depressions with an embanked rim and, occasionally an outer
ditch or an entrance through the bank. Pond barrows occur either in isolation
or within round barrow cemeteries. Pond barrows are the rarest form of round
barrow, with about 60 examples recorded nationally and a distribution largely
confined to Wiltshire and Dorset, many of which are in the Stonehenge area. As
few examples have been excavated, they have a particularly high value for
future study. Due to their rarity, all identified pond barrows will normally
be considered to be of national importance.
Despite the reduced height of the disc barrow and some disturbance to the pond
barrow 350m NNW of Greenland Farm, they will contain archaeological remains
and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which
it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume V, (1957), 221
Other

Source: Historic England