Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow 420m north of Down Farm on Cotswold
downland west of the village of Nettleton.
The barrow lies on the line of a medieval headland which runs through the
fields on a north-south alignment. The mound of the barrow is 29.1m in
diameter, 1m high and is surrounded by a ditch 2m wide from which material was
quarried during its construction. This has become infilled over the years and
survives as a buried feature.
The base of a pylon which impinges on the monument is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

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 barrow 420m north of Down Farm is well preserved and is a good example of
its type. It will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence
relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Pugh, RB (ed), The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume II, (1957), 184

Source: Historic England