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Summary

Possible bowl barrow 450 m north west of St Guthlac's Church, Little Ponton

Full description

PRN 30082
Barrow, 47 paces across, 7 ft high. No ditch. {2}
Thought by Mr Preston of Grantham to be spill from gravel pit, but by no means certain.{1}{2}{3}{4}
The mound stands in sandy soil on position of prominence. Published survey 25inch, 1931, correct.{1}
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a bowl barrow located on the western slope of the valley of the river Witham. It is prominently situated on the crest of the slope, immediately to the south of the northern field boundary hedge, some 150m east of the Great North Road. The grassy mound has a rounded summit and gently sloping sides, and shows no sign of any disturbance. It is c.50m in diameter and stands to a height of approximately 2m above the surrounding pasture. Material for the construction of the mound would have been quarried from an encircling ditch. This ditch is no longer visible but is thought to survive buried beneath the present ground surface. The barrow is a prominent earthwork clearly visible from the public highway. Since it is substantially undisturbed, valuable archaeological deposits, including funerary remains, relating to the dating and construction of the barrow will be preserved beneath the mound and in the fills of the ditch. These contexts will also retain environmental evidence illustrating the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set. {7}
Also interpreted as an undated earthwork mound. {8}
Geophysical survey was carried out at the mound and its surrounding area. No evidence of a typical barrow quarry ditch was seen, however a possible rectangular feature enclosing the mound was recorded. It is suggested that this may indicate a later date for the mound, although any interpretation remains tentative. Further linear anomalies were identified, however these are probably geological in origin. The mound has been disturbed by rabbit burrows, which also hampered surveying in places. {9}

<1> OS CARD INDEX, SK 93 SW:3,1965, F.R.H. (Index). SLI2610.

<2> PHILLIPS, C.W., 1929, OS 6 INCH SERIES, SK93SW (Map). SLI3673.

<3> PHILLIPS, C.W., C.W. PHILLIPS PRIVATE INDEX, - (Index). SLI2089.

<4> HBMC, 1961, ANCIENT MONUMENTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 63 (Index). SLI2087.

<5> SMR FILE, SK 93 SW:H,1929, PHILLIPS, C.W. (Index). SLI3141.

<6> HBMC, AM 7, SAM 12 (Scheduling Record). SLI4205.

<7> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1996, REVISED SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 27863, MPP 23 (Scheduling Record). SLI4306.

<8> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, National Mapping Programme, SK9332:lI.735.7.1,1995, (Map). SLI3613.

<9> Grantham Archaeology Group, 2007, A Possible Bronze Age Barrow at Little Ponton, Grantham: Geophysical Survey, - (Report). SLI12917.

Monument Types

• MOUND (Unknown date)
• ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 801 BC)

Associated Events

• Geophysical survey (resistivity) of a possible round barrow at Little Ponton
• Geophysical survey (magnetometry) of a possible round barrow at Little Ponton

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.