More information : (SE28578010) Tumulus (NR)
Three Hills (NAT) (1)
"Three Hills", three bowl barrows excavated by Rev. W C Lukis in 1869.
'A' - 80 ft in diameter, 3 1/2ft high at SE 28608015. Single fragment of burnt human bone may possibly have been the primary interment. Secondary cremation with charcoal.
'B' - 60 ft in diameter, 1 ft high at SE 28608024. Central (?) circular pit with charcoal and a few fragments of burnt bones of adult and child; near by a vessel contained calcined bones and flint flakes (some calcined). Another coarse vessel near.
'C' - 60ft diameter, 1 ft high at SE 28628022. Contained primary cremation with charcoal. (2)
Visible on AP. 'B' at SE 28598015, 'C' at SE 28628014. (3)
Only the round barrow at 'A' is now visible and this has been greatly reduced by ploughing. It measures 34.0m in diameter and 0.3m in height. Published survey (25") revised. (4)
B is visible on OS APs 72 118 667-668 at SE 28608016. (5)
SE 285 801. Three Hills round barrow. Scheduled No NY/984. (6)
Four bronze age round barrows, two with inhumations, are visible as cropmarks on air photographs. Also visible are pits of prehistoric date and ditches of uncertain date. They are 346m east of Thornborough north henge (SE 28 SE 31) and centred at SE 2854 8007.
The barrows are located at: a) SE 2859 8014, b) SE 2857 8011, c) SE 2854 8007, and d) SE 2849 7998. They are on a north-east/south-west alignment. (a) is formed by a single narrow ditch with an internal diameter of 19m. There is a pit within the barrow (in the NNW quadrant) that may be identified as an inhumation. 18m south-west lies (b), which is only visible as a diffuse negative mark indicating a mound. There is no sign of an outer ditch on the air photographs available. Also this is a mound that has not received comment before; it may require further investigation. Barrow (c) is a further 18m south-west. It is formed by a single narrow ditch and a mound. It has an internal diameter of 22m. The last barrow (d) is situated 85m south-west of the previous. It is formed by a narrow, interrupted (as visible on the air photographs available), ditch with an internal diameter of c.18m. This feature is more sub-circular in plan than the other barrows in this group. There is a pit towards the centre that may be interpreted as an inhumation.
Running roughly parallel to the four barrows are several rectangular pits. Their purpose is uncertain. There are also ditches in the area, one of which cuts barrow (d).
Palaeochannels are visible on air photographs as cropmarks in this area and some have been mapped as part of the Thornborough AP Mapping Project. It is possible that they may obscure other archaeological features.
(8-9) |