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Summary - not yet available

Monument Type(s):

• BUILDING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• COFFIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• BARROW (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• PIT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• INHUMATION (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• TOMB? (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Finds:

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• BELL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• BOTTLE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CHAIR (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CHEST (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• CUP (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• DRINKING VESSEL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• FLAGON (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• INTAGLIO (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• LAMP HANGER (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• NAIL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• PLANT REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• PLATE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• RING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• SHERD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• STRIGIL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• VESSEL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Events:

• Resistivity survey of barrows at Bartlow Hills, 2004-5
• Topographic and geophysical survey at the Bartlow Hills, 2004-5
• Magnetometer survey, Bartlow Hills, Bartlow, 2004
• Coring of Bartlow mound VII, 2008

Protected Status:

• Scheduled Monument 33355: Bartlow Hills Roman barrow cemetery

Full description

As a result of a recent county boundary change the tumuli known as the Bartlow Hills have been transferred from Essex to Cambridgeshire. The following is the descriptive text passed on by the Essex SMR officer:-At the extreme NE of the parish (NB: this refers to Ashdon civil parish in the county of Essex) 2 parallel rows of tumuli, running nearly N and S, 4 in the E row shaped like truncated cones. The largest is 40ft high and 145ft in diameter. Since 1766 3 have been planted with trees. The W row is now less clear - originally it consisted of at least 3 small mounds (proved by digging in 1832) but only 2 could be faintly traced. Excavations, chiefly 1832 - 1840, showed all 7 mounds contained regular walled graves at the centre. Grave goods of glass, decorated bronze and enamel were very costly. They were almost all destroyed in a fire at Easton Lodge in 1847. Graves seem to belong to the end of the C1 to the start of the C2.
R1. Traces remain of a bank and ditch which may have enclosed the barrows. The ditch was seen to be V-shaped in a gravel pit. According to Holinshed one had been destroyed - if so there were 8 originally. According to Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia 2 barrows were dug up and searched and 3 stone coffins were found with many pieces of bone. Either this is an unreported discovery or a mistaken reference to finds made elsewhere. In 1815 Sir Busick Harwood excavated a barrow N of the railway (barrow VI). He found pottery, an iron lamp holder, a bronze patera, a small sickle-shaped knife. One pottery vessel and the other finds are in Saffron Walden Museum. The W row of barrows was destroyed in 1832 by agriculture but they were excavated by John Gage. Barrow I (the middle one in the W row) contained a decayed wooden chest, whose iron nails and angle pieces were found, and also decayed wood. The contents of the chest were:- a thin glass flagon, a glass bottle, a buff pottery flagon, 8 Samian cups and platters (all with makers' stamps - only 4 legible), 2 small grey beakers, a small bronze lock, some pieces of iron with wood attached, an iron lamp, a small deposit of human bone on the chalk amid the objects (in one bone was a twisted iron point probably ivory - ? part of a handle). Dated 80 - 100. Barrow II (to the S of Barrow I) contained a tile built tomb chamber 1ft below the original ground surface. This contained: an open glass, cylindrical urn which contained burnt bones in a liquid and a gold ring with a cornelian intaglio on bones (sic) and a coin of Hadrian. The bones were of an adult. Other finds:- a similar, open glass vessel, a small glass cup, fine basket work- bottle shaped, a wooden tankard with handle and hoops of bronze, fine earth with the decomposed wood of a small coffer and the iron lock and straps belonging to it. Dated Hadrianic - Antonine. Barrow III (to the N of Barrow I). Again decayed wood indicated a chest but no iron nails or straps were found. It contained:-a heavy, green glass bottle full of burnt human bones (bones of an adult), 2 similar empty bottles, an iron lamp holder, a fine bronze flagon standing on a bronze patera, fragments of a small dark pottery vessel, bits of iron including the strap from a casket. Dated to the C2. The other barrows were opened later by Gage. Barrow IV was excavated in 1835. This was the largest in the E line. A tunnel was driven into the centre. The central deposit was in a cavity left by the decay of a wooden chest - wooden fragments and an iron nail were found from this. The cavity contained:-a fine green glass bottle full of burnt bones from a small adult, a bronze flagon with silver inlay (probably used for sacrifices) of which Colchester Museum has a plaster cast. This lay on its side in a bronze patera. There was a round-bodied bronze bowl, elaborately enamelled. This appeared to have been gilt, though no gold was found. After the fire (see below) the fused remains went to the British Museum. A photo is in the SMR (Essex). 6 copies were made in plaster and 2 are in Saffron Walden Museum. Other finds:-an exceptionally fine bronze lamp, a pear-shaped bronze can, a folding iron chair, a pair of bronze strigils, 2 glass phials(1 with a liquid in it), a tall greenish glass bottle, a small beaker (similar to that in Barrow I). Outside the chest was a complete globular amphora (filled with earth, ashes and a small fragment of bone). Barrow V was opened in 1838, again via a tunnel. A cavity was left by the decay of a wooden chest. It contained:-a green glass bottle full of the burnt bones of an adult, a bronze flagon (ornamental parts of silver and copper) on the base of an inverted bronze patera (again with ornamental parts of silver), an iron lamp holder, a greenish glass bottle, a small thin vessel of yellow glass, a globular pottery vessel, a Samian cup and platter(both stamped) with food bones on the platter, 2 small pottery vessels, vegetable remains (leaves in the urn, remains of a wreath around the lamp's handle, the leaves were of box). Barrow VI was tunnelled in 1840 but only a few fragments of pottery were found. A skeleton was found in the fill of a shaft in 1930,when Gage's tunnel fell in, by CG Brocklebank. This was the barrow excavated previously by Harwood. Barrow VI had a central cavity from the decay of a wooden chest (the decayed wood was 2in thick). This barrow was also excavated in 1840. It contained a greenish glass bottle full of burnt bones, a rouletted beaker of late C2 form (it contained the overflow of ashes from the bottle), a bronze flagon with silver details, a bronze bowl, 2 fragments of yellowish ware, 3 Samian vessels (2 cups, 1 saucer, all stamped but one only legible), 4 small, dark earthen ware beakers - one was plain, along-necked glass unguent phial (like one in Barrow IV), a tall bell-shaped glass tumbler or beaker, an iron lamp like the previous finds, vegetable remains among the vessels - petals of a flower as large as a poppy or a rose. The burial was Hadrianic or Antonine in date. Finds from the barrows were taken to Easton Lodge and were destroyed by fire in 1847, except the bowl from Barrow IV (see above) and other surviving objects in Saffron Walden Museum. VCH has more detailed descriptions of all the objects found and their contents (R2 - R21, R26). There are 6 extant barrows and 2 other barrows. None have ditches. No traces of the other 2 that composed the group. Probably destroyed by the railway. The VCH suggests that there were 8. The RCHM shows 7 on its plan
(R22). There are detailed descriptions of the objects in the SMR, (this refers to the Essex SMR), taken from the Archaeologia and the Saffron Walden Museum Register. Some of the sheets have illustrations on their reverse sides. One sheet suggests that the bowl in Saffron Walden Museum, attributed to Harwood's excavation, may be misplaced as it is C3 - C4 in date and so is much later than other finds in the barrows (R23, R8, R9, R11, R12). Photos of the Bartlow Hills are in the (Essex) SMR, including APs. Also a photo of the bowl in the British Museum (see above) is in the (Essex) SMR (R27, R28, R29, R30, R31). Parallels for some of the objects can be found in this source (R34). In 1934 a cropmark promoted investigation of the space between Barrows II and IV. This revealed a flint work foundation. Among the flints was a small bronze coin of Valens. Under the N end of the foundation was a pit filled with ferruginous sandy clay. Whatever the pit was, the foundation suggests a monumental tomb. Another excavation was made E of the barrows. Pottery and cut horn was found. Later when the railway was driven through the barrows 15 skeletons were found and, c 100yds E of the hills, ancient foundations were reported by the railway workmen. A coin of Tacitus and a small bronze bell were found. These foundations could be connected with the Bartlow villa excavated by Neville (R2, R9, R18,R19, R20, R21). The former Essex SMR no was 4751.
R35. The monument includes a group of six Roman barrows, known as Bartlow Hills, in two areas of protection. They are situated on a north facing slope, 150m south of the River Granta, at Bartlow. Four barrows remain preserved as steep conical mounds, while two have been largely levelled but survive as low mounds. Despite archaeological investigations in the area, no evidence of ditches surrounding the mounds has been found.
The barrows form two parallel rows running roughly north to south. In the western row two mounds survive as slight earthworks after being partly levelled by agricultural activity. The northernmost mound measures approximately 24m in diameter and is 1m high. Investigation in 1832 revealed a decayed wooden chest with fittings holding a deposit of human bones and numerous grave goods, such as glass vessels, Samian pottery stamped with the potters marks, a bronze lock and an iron lamp. The mound immediately south of it measures 23m in diameter with a height of 1m. In the centre a tile-built chamber protecting a glass cinerary urn was found, accompanied by a gold ring, a coin of Hadrian, a wooden tankard and a wicker work bottle filled with incense.
The eastern row consists of four conical mounds with flat platform tops. The northernmost mound, which is in a separate area of protection, has a diameter of 30m and is approximately 6.4m high. Explorations in 1815 recovered an iron lamp-holder, a bronze patera (shallow bowl used in banquets), and a small sickle shaped knife. Immediately south of it lies a second mound with a diameter of approximately 32m and a height of 7.1m. In 1840 a tunnel was dug to the centre revealing a wooden chest protecting a green glass cinerary bottle and grave goods, including a Bronze cup and flagon, Samian pottery, and an iron lamp holding a half burned wick. In between the artifacts were the petals of roses or poppies. Its neighbour to the south is the largest mound in the group, measuring 46m in diameter and 12.3m high. It contained a glass cinerary bottle in a wooden chest, holding the cremated remains of a small adult, possibly a female. Grave goods included an iron folding chair with a seat of leather straps, glass containers filled with liquids such as wine mixed with honey, and bronze strigils (skin-scrapers), flagons and a gilt bowl enamelled in blue, green and red. The southernmost mound measures 40m east-west and 34m north-south and is 5.2m high. Its contents included a glass cinerary bottle in a wooden chest, a bronze flagon on top of a patera, both decorated with silver and covered with cloth, a sponge, an iron lamp holder decorated with a wreath, and glass and pottery vessels, one of which contained chicken bones.
R36. Summary of history and present condition of the monument, with recommendation for study and preservation, compiled for a CUBCE certificate in archaeology project.
R37. Following a pilot study in 2004, 3D electrical resistance tomography was carried out at the four surviving barrows. The three southern barrows were found to have a vertical high resistivity feature at the central of each barrow, interpreted as collapse or subsidence structures, originating from the central chambers, or possibly infilling of antiquarian shafts. These three barrows also demonstrated a marginal raised resistivity feature a few metres in from the edge of each of the mounds, suggested to be evidence of revetment structures. The fourth northern barrow also demonstrated a central high resistivity structure, but lacks the clear evidence for the revetment features.
R38. A topographic survey was undertaken of the mounds and their immediate vicinity, clearly showing the location of the two smaller barrows to the west of four. Profiles were produced of the four surviving barrows and compared to previous profiles from 1832 and 1916. Magnetometer and resistivity surveys were carried out of the flat areas surrounding the mounds, to investigate the features thought to exist in this area, particularly the flint platform excavated by Gage. A number of anomalies were identified, the majority of which are thought to be modern.
R41. The survey successfully located a number of features associated with the barrows. While the features with in the chalk responded well, the modern disturbance in the vicinity of the barrows was prolific and could mask buried archaeological features. Despite the disturbance, three rectilinear features were located which may relate to a flint platform which was excavated in 1834 between Barrows II and IV. This preliminary trial survey can be considered to be a success.
R46. Resistivity imaging was carried out on four large Roman barrows at Bartlow. The technique was particularly successful in identifying evidence for the antiquarian explorations of the site, identifying possible central collapse features or in-filled tunnels in all barrows. A low resistance feature in barrow IV may indicate the presence of a known antiquarian tunnel, whilst a high resistance feature covering barrow VI might relate to 19th century landscaping.
R47. An extensive magnetometer and topographic survey were undertaken in the area surrounding the Bartlow Hills, to examine the landscape setting of the barrows, and in particular the enclosing rectangular earthwork and villa that are recorded in antiquarian accounts. A survey of the documentary evidence suggests there may have been more than 7 barrows, and that a further barrow may have been destroyed. The magnetometry survey identified one substantial circular feature to the NE of the mounds, which had a diameter of 31m and which may represent a lost barrow.

Sources and further reading

Reports

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