Details

The monument includes four bowl barrows, forming part of a cemetery situated
270m east of the long barrow on Roughridge Hill. The barrows all lie less than
90m north of Wansdyke on a level ridge. The cemetery contains a total of five
bowl barrows and is one of a number of cemeteries located on the Downs. The
fifth barrow, to the south, is the subject of a separate scheduling.
All four bowl barrows have been reduced by cultivation but remain visible at
ground level as low mounds measuring from 10m to 14m in diameter and standing
up to 0.2m high. Originally they were all surrounded by quarry ditches from
which material was obtained during their construction. These have become
infilled over the years due to cultivation, but survive as buried features
about 2m wide. They are clearly visible on aerial photographs.
Three of the four barrows were partly excavated in the early 1800s, when a
cremation was found buried near the centre of each mound. The fourth barrow,
located second from the south, was partly excavated in the late 1850s when
the cremated remains of a young woman were recorded as having been found.

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 Early Bronze Age
periods. Two of the best known and earliest recognised, with references in the
17th century, are around Avebury and Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a
World Heritage Site. In the Avebury area, the henge monument itself, the West
Kennet Avenue, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Windmill Hill
causewayed enclosure and the enigmatic Silbury Hill are well-known. Whilst the
other Neolithic long barrows, the many Bronze Age round barrows and other
associated sites are less well-known, together they define one of the richest
and most varied areas of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual
monuments in the country. Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age
(2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows -
rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries
developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in
some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period.
They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently
including several different types of round barrow and occasionally associated
with earlier long barrows. Where investigation beyond the round barrows has
occurred, contemporary or later `flat' burials between the barrow mounds have
often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland
England with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases they are
clustered around other important contemporary monuments, as is the case both
here and at Stonehenge. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape, while their diversity and their
longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of
beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. All
examples are considered worthy of protection.

This group of barrows, forming part of a round barrow cemetery, has been shown
from part excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence
relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'A History Of Wiltshire' in Bishops Cannings 59, , Vol. 1, 1, (1957), 158
Grinsell, L V, 'A History Of Wiltshire' in Bishops Cannings 58, , Vol. 1,1, (1957), 158
Grinsell, LV, 'A History of Wiltshire' in A History of Wiltshire, , Vol. 1,1, (1957), 158
Grinsell, L V, 'A History Of Wiltshire' in Bishops Cannings 56, , Vol. 1, 1, (1957), 158
Other
SU 06 NE 005 B, R.C.H.M.(E), Bishops Canning 58, (1973)
SU 06 NE 005 C, R.C.H.M.(E), Bishops Cannings 57, (1973)
SU 06 NE 005 D ref 1, R.C.H.M.(E), Bishops Cannings 56, (1973)
SU 06 NE 005 D ref 2, R.C.H.M.(E), Bishops Cannings 56, (1973)
SU 06 NE 005 E, R.C.H.M. (E), Bishops Cannings 59, (1973)
SU06NE 705 (ref: MEYRICK, O.), C.A.O., Bowl barrow excavated by Cunnington, (1973)
SU06NE 705, C.A.O., Bowl barrow excavated by Cunnington, (1973)
SU06NE 706, C.A.O., Bowl barrow excavated by Thurnham, (1973)
SU06NE 707, C.A.O., Bowl barrow excavated by Cunnington, (1973)

Source: Historic England