More information : NB this barrow was formerly recorded as part of SU 17 SW 57 (Barrow 'B'). That record should be consulted for some additional sources and information.
'B' SU 11297100 Bell (?) barrow, mound diam 63', height 7' ; berm width 9' ; ditchdestroyed. Excavated by Merewether (barrow 4). Primary (?) cremation in MBA collared urn. Rim of another collared urn found 2 1/2' from top of mound. (Grinsell has same qualifications to classification as in Avebury 37 [SU 17 SW 195]). (1-2)
B. SU 11297100. A bell barrow 40m overall diameter, has a mound 2.7m high above a wide, 0.2m deep ditch which is ploughed out in the N. (3)
All four barrow mounds in the group were mapped at 1:10,000 from APs by the Fyfield Down and Overton Down Mapping Project. No additional information was recorded. (4, 5)
Merewether's account of the excavation, on August 11th 1849, is as follows: "At a depth of about 2ft 6in a considerable fragment of a large coarse urn was found, ornamented with plain hatched lines rount the top. At the depth of 5 feet, a cist, formed as usual in the chalk, was discovered; this was 2ft 6in in diameter, the same in depth; it contained in fragments, but as it had been originally deposited, in the centre, a large plain urn filled with burnt human bones; the urn was 13 inches high." Merewether was quite explicit in describing the mound as a bell barrow, as were the Ordnance Survey. Grinsell was more cautious. (1-5) |