Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set at the head of a steep-sided dry
valley in an area of undulating chalk downland known as Marlborough Downs.
The barrow mound is 15m in diameter and stands to a height of 1m. A shallow
depression, 4m across and 0.2m deep, in the centre of the mound suggests
partial excavation of the site, probably in the late 19th century. A ditch,
from which mound material was quarried, surrounds the barrow mound. This is
no longer visible at ground level, having been infilled over the years, but
survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The barrow mound has been used as a
dump for large sarsen blocks recovered from surrounding fields.

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 Barbury Barn site and cultivation of the
area of the surrounding 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