Details

The monument includes four round barrows which are located at the south
eastern end of Winsford Hill. The barrows are situated near the southern
boundary of an enclosed area of high and level ground known as The
Allotment, overlooking the Exe Valley to the east and the Barle Valley to
the west. The four barrows are prehistoric in date and are arranged in a
crescent-shaped plan which broadly follows a north-south aligment. The
barrows, which are all formed by circular earth and stone mounds, are
thought to be bowl barows, a class of round barrow which takes its name
from the shape of the mounds. The mounds of the three northernmost barrows
range in size from 5m to 11m in diameter and are up to 0.7m high. The
mound of the southernmost barrow, which is located some 50m to the south
of the others, is 12.5m in diameter and 0.6m high. The perimeter of this
mound is encircled with stone, some of which is quartz. In keeping with
other similarly constructed barrows in the region, the four mounds would
have been surrounded by ditches from which material was quarried for their
construction. Although these are no longer visible at ground level they
will survive as buried features between 1m and 2m wide and are included in
the scheduling.

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 at least two of the mounds having been disturbed, probably in
antiquity, the four round barrows on The Allotment, 520m south east of
Spire Cross survive well as a group. They will contain archaeological
deposits and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the wider
landscape in which it was constructed. Their importance is further
enhanced by their association with a number of prehistoric burial mounds
which occupy prominent positions along the summit of Winsford Hill which
would have provided a striking visual element in the prehistoric
landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
SS 83 SE 9, National Monuments Record, (1997)

Source: Historic England