Details

The monument includes a bell barrow set on a ridge-top with gently sloping
ground to the north and south. The barrow mound is 22m in diameter and
stands to a height of 1.7m. Surrounding the barrow mound is a berm 2m across
and a ditch, from which material was quarried during construction of the
monument. This has become infilled over the years and is no longer visible
at ground level; it does however survive as a buried feature 3m wide. Late
Bronze Age pottery has been recovered from the area of the barrow mound.
The diameter of the mound, berm and ditch together is 32m.

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

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary
monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples
belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds
covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The
burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery
and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows
(particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known
examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early
prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a
particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would
normally be considered to be of national importance.

There is no evidence for formal excavation of the Barbury Barn site
and, despite cultivation of the area of the berm and ditch, much of the
monument remains intact and survives comparatively well. It therefore has
significant potential for the recovery of archaeological remains. The
importance of the site is enhanced by the fact that numerous other barrow
mounds survive in the area. These give an indication of the extent to which
the area was settled during the Bronze Age period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Meyrick, O, Re bell barrow 350m SW of Barbury Barn

Source: Historic England