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Summary

Mound known as Folk Moot in Butt Lees. This mound is probably a Bronze Age bowl barrow that has been re-used in the medieval and post medieval periods.

Full description

PRN 60722
[This record includes material from PRN 60970, now deleted.]
Mound 6ft high and 80ft in diameter with suggestion of ditch, called Folk Moot on the O.S. sheet. Possibly prehistoric barrow, or even windmill mound. {1}
A grassy mound 2.4m high and 26m diameter. Dished on top. No traces of outer ditch but probably destroyed by ploughing which is right up to the edge of the mound. Several small trees have been self-sown on the mound. A number of Romano-British and medieval pottery sherds found in the adjacent plough soil. As previously suggested it could be a prehistoric barrow or a windmill mound. {2}
The Folk Moot is one of a group of four mounds which was recorded in Butt Lees in the early twentieth century. The only other mound still evident, Butt Mound (PRN 60724), is the subject of a separate scheduling. The group appears to represent the remains of a Bronze Age barrow cemetery. The surviving mounds are thought to have been re-used as archery butts in the medieval and post medieval periods. The Folk Moot may also have been re-used as a beacon or as a village meeting place. {4}
The name Folk Moot, which may be derived from Old English 'folc-gemot', might suggest that this was once an assembly-site, possibly that of the wapentake of Aswardhurn. {5}
This mound was partially excavated in 1933, with limited results. No burial remains were found, and few artefacts were recovered. A few sherds of prehistoric pottery and several animal bones (some recent) were recovered and burnt stones, probably related to the re-use of the mound for bonfires, were found in the upper part of the mound. A shallow pit filled with different coloured earth was seen in the centre of the mound. Traces of a possible stone wall were seen at the edges of the mound. {4}{7}{8}
Part of the ring ditch of this barrow was uncovered during a watching brief along a pipeline route. {6}

<1> HBMC, 1972, AM 7, SAM 78 (Scheduling Record). SLI4107.

<2> HBMC, 1987, AM 107, SAM 78 (Scheduling Record). SLI4030.

<3> 1945-84, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, FN84 (Aerial Photograph). SLI173.

<4> English Heritage, 1999, Revised scheduling document 22752, MPP 23 (Scheduling Record). SLI5367.

<5> Aliki Pantos, 2000, Lincolnshire Assembly-Places, No 2 (Unpublished Document). SLI6302.

<6> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 1994, Archaeological Watching Brief: Rauceby to Silk Willoughby Water Pipeline, SIL93 (Report). SLI5278.

<7> de la Bere, Captain R., 1933, Letters and notes about the excavation of a mound at Silk Willoughby, - (Correspondence). SLI11654.

<8> Smith, A.E., 1933-4, Letters and notes about a mound at Silk Willoughby and other sites, - (Correspondence). SLI11655.

<9> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, National Mapping Programme, TF 04 SE; TF0542; LI.843.6.1 (Map). SLI3613.

<10> Ordnance Survey, Silk Willoughby O.S. cards, TF 04 SE; 2 (Index). SLI2720.

<11> Silk Willoughby SMR cards, TF 04 SE; B, D (Index). SLI3258.

Monument Types

• MOUND (Undated)
• BOWL BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 801 BC)
• MOOT? (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 410 AD to 1539 AD)
• ARCHERY BUTTS (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• BEACON (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• WINDMILL MOUND? (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Events

• Watching brief along the route of a water pipeline between Rauceby and Silk Willoughby
• Site visit to Butt Lees
• Aerial photograph of earthworks at Butt Lees, Silk Willoughby
• Excavation of Folk Moot mound, Silk Willoughby

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Related records

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