Details

The monument includes a bell barrow 1.3km south east of Lord's Hill Farm on
Parsonage Down in the rolling chalk country to the south of the Wylye Valley.
The mound of the barrow is 21m across and 1.5m high. It has a flat top, an
area of which has been disturbed, interpreted as an early attempt at
excavation of the barrow. Surrounding the mound is a berm which is 1.5m wide
and a ditch from which material was quarried during the barrow's construction.
This has been infilled over the years and survives as a buried feature 4m wide
except to the north west where it is visible as a shallow earthwork 0.1m deep.
The ditch is surrounded by an outer bank 2m wide which has been reduced by
cultivation and is visible as a light soilmark.

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.

The bell barrow 1.3km south east of Lord's Hill Farm is well preserved and is
a good example of its class. It will contain archaeological and environmental
evidence that relates to the people who built the barrow and the landscape in
which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire, (1957), 215

Source: Historic England