Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a Bronze Age round
barrow situated on a gradual south facing slope in an area of gently
undulating land. The barrow mound is constructed of earth and is roughly
circular, measuring approximately 18m in diameter at its base. It has a flat
top, measuring 7m by 9m, which may be the result of later modification. In
relation to the sloping ground on which it stands, its height increases from
1.6m to 2m. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch from which
material was quarried during the construction of the barrow surrounds the
mound. This has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried
feature, approximately 3m wide. Immediately to the south of the mound is a
crescent-shaped pit, of probable modern date, which cuts the base of the mound
and part of the surrounding ditch.

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 barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to
the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC.
They were constructed as earthen mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as
cemeteries and often acted as a focus of burials in later periods. Often
superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit
regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are
over 10,000 surviving examples recorded nationally (many more have already
been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area
where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl
or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in
form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the
diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric
communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a
substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

Despite its later modification, the round barrow 330m south of Oldfields
survives well. It is a rare example of a prehistoric funerary monument
surviving in an area where other examples have been levelled by the plough.
The barrow mound will retain evidence for its method of construction as well
as the burials within it. These remains will advance our understanding of
Bronze Age society, including the ritual practices and technical abilities of
these people. The accumulated ditch fills will preserve environmental evidence
for the activities which took place at the site, during the construction of
the barrow and its subsequent use. In addition, the buried ground surface
beneath the mound will preserve evidence for the landscape in which the barrow
was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Heywood-Lonsdale, TC, (2000)

Source: Historic England