Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow located 500m to the south
west of Waterhall Farm, within a small copse situated in the angle of the
A11/A14 junction.
The barrow stands on the broad ridge of the low chalk escarpment. To the south
a slight gradient descends in the direction of Newmarket, and to the north the
ground gradually falls towards Chippenham and the fen edge around Worlington
and Isleham. The barrow mound is roughly circular in plan and domed in
profile, measuring c.25m in diameter and 1.4m in height. It was first noted in
C Fox's `Archaeology of the Cambridge Region'(1923), at which time it was
recorded as being unexamined. There is no evidence of archaeological
excavation since this time, and the mound is therefore assumed to remain
substantially undisturbed.
The barrow forms part of a dispersed group or cemetery which included at least
ten similar barrows, seven of which still survive (and are scheduled
separately). The cemetery is aligned broadly east-west, extending over a
distance of c.1.5km to the south of Chippenham Park. The Hilly Plantation
barrow lies towards the western side of the alignment, some 320m from its
nearest neighbour to the east in The Rookery plantation (SM 27178), and
separated by the line of the A11 from a group of barrows clustered on the
north side of the road junction (some of which were excavated in 1973 prior to
the construction of the dual carriageways - those which survive comprise
SM 27180).
This alignment, together with further outlying barrows near Newmarket and
Barton Mills, broadly correlates with the course of the Roman road between
Great Chesterford and Thetford. The barrows are indicative of a far earlier
prehistoric trackway following the Icknield Way across the edge of the chalk
escarpment.

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 Hilly Plantation bowl barrow survives well; the mound has not been
excavated and is believed to stand close to its original height. Funerary
remains together with other artefacts and structural evidence contained within
the mound will provide details of the date of its construction, the duration
of use and the character of prehistoric burial. The former ground surface
beneath the mound will retain valuable evidence for activities preceding its
construction, and environmental information illustrating the appearance of the
landscape in which the monument was set.
The association between this barrow and the others which form both the
cemetery and the wider alignment is highly significant, providing insights
into the development of ritual practice, the position of the prehistoric
trackway across the chalk escarpment, and the pattern of prehistoric
settlement in the region.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Bray, S, Chippenham Park and Fen River Pipeline Archaeological Assessment, (1991)
Fox, C, Archaeology of the Cambridge Region, (1923), 30
Other
generic SMR number, 10325 Chippenham Barrow Group, (1985)
generic SMR number, 7448 Chippenham Barrow Group, (1991)

Source: Historic England