| Summary : A round barrow, part of a linear group (focused on SU 01 NW 165) located just to the north of the main Oakley Down barrow group (SU 01 NW 19).Listed by RCHME as Wimborne St Giles 115 and by Grinsell as Wimborne St Giles 24, RCHME survey noted it had been levelled by cultivation. The barrow is probably that depicted by Hoare just to the northeast of his barrow 26 on his plan of the Oakley Down barrows. It's unnumbered status suggests that it probably wasn't excavated by him. However, the barrow has been excavated on two occasions more recently. In 1940, a trial trench identified the presence of a surrounding ditch, and resulted in the recovery of Roman potsherds and a glass bead. More extensive excavation occurred in 1950-51 following recognition of the damage being caused by ploughing. The excavation showed the barrow to comprise a central mound of possibly more than one phase, surrounded by a stepped berm and ditch. Beneath the centre of the barrow were two pits, each containing a cremation deposit. One also contained a bronze awl, and unburned human bones were found on top of the pit. Four secondary cremations were found. Three were associated with inverted Deverel-Rimbury style urns. The fourth was found with a coin of Valeninian I and a sherd of Roman pottery. On the northwest side, a bank and ditch, possibly associated with the field system SU 01 NW 71, cut the barrow ditch. Finds from these features included some 4000 sherds of Roman pottery. A number of Roman glass beads were also found during the barrow excavation. The barrow is listed by Grinsell as a bowl barrow, although he acknowledges the excavators' description of it as a bell barrow, arguing "I think the small size shows that it was not one in the technical sense" ! |