Details

The monument includes a pair of Bronze Age bowl barrows orientated north-south
and located on the highest point of the heavily wooded Maple Hill, in Wychwood
Forest.
The northern barrow mound measures 10.8m in diameter and stands up to 0.4m
high. Surrounding the mound but no longer visible at ground level, is a quarry
ditch from which material was obtained during its construction. This ditch has
become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide.
The southern barrow mound measures 9.5m in diameter and stands up to 0.7m
high. This is also surrounded by a buried ditch c.2m wide.
The two barrows are separated by a distance of 4.4m.

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 pair of Bronze Age bowl barrows situated on Maple Hill are well-preserved
examples which have survived, despite being small in size, due to their
location in dense woodland. They have not been disturbed by excavation and
will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their
construction and the landscape in which they were built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Benson, D, The Victoria History of the County of Oxfordshire: Volume II, (1907)
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
Mudd, A, Round Barrows of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, (1983)
Other
PRN 1335, C.A.O., Round Barrow, (1984)
PRN 1336, C.A.O., Round Barrow, (1984)
SP 31 NW 25, RCHM(E), 2 ? ROUND BARROWS,

Source: Historic England