Details

The Gittisham Hill barrow cemetery is situated in south east Devon, 8km
south of Honiton, on the high ground of an extensive Greensand plateau where
it forms the watershed of the south-flowing River Sid. The monument includes a
single bowl barrow situated within an area of heathland on the east side of
Gittisham Hill, on ground which slopes gradually down to the south west.
The barrow consists of a mound 12m in diameter and c.1m in height as seen
from the south west, composed of dark soil and flinty stones up to 20cm in
size. The barrow mound does not appear to have been surrounded by a ditch. A
rounded pit 2.5m in diameter has been cut into the lower part of the west side
of the mound and is now overgrown. Tangential to the eastern edge of the mound
there is a 1m deep drainage ditch adjacent to a Devon bank hedge field
boundary. Part of the upcast from this ditch forms a slight bank overlying the
edge of the mound.

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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.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, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The Gittisham Hill barrow cemetery comprises the western area of one of the
most extensive and densest concentrations of barrows in Devon. Limited
archaeological excavations of some of the barrows in this concentration have
revealed that they show a remarkable diversity in size and form, and in the
nature of their funerary contents.
This barrow is one of 13 that form the Gittisham Hill barrow cemetery. It
survives in good condition and will retain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the construction and use of the monument.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society' in The Barrows of South and East Devon, , Vol. 41, (1983), 5-46
Simpson, S, Noble, S, 'Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report' in Archaeological Survey & Management Study of Areas of E Devon, , Vol. 93.38, (1993)

Source: Historic England