| Summary : Hatfield barrow, now almost levelled, was described as being 70 to 80 yards in diameter and 50 feet high prior to 1818. Excavations by Cunnington, described by Colt Hoare, in 1807 (when it was 22.5 feet high) recovered wood ashes, animal bones and two small deposits of human bones, perhaps representing secondary inhumations. Cunnington's excavations culminated in the spectacular collapse of the 'Giant of Marden'. Ploughing in the mid nineteenth century ensured there was apparently no trace left of the barrow by the 1860s. The barrow appears on aerial photographs to survive as very low mound sitting in a shallow scoop, which extends farther on the eastern side and is possibly partially surrounded by a ditch. Field investigation in 2009 confirmed the survival of a low spread mound much disturbed by ploughing. Aerial photographs taken in 1976 suggest the survival of sub-surface remains of an asymmetric site about 75m across, comprising a mound c.55m across enclosed by a broad ditch or hollow. Geophysical survey in 2009 confirmed this. Excavation by English Heritage in 2010 identified a central posthole and evidence for tree clearance . The barrow was listed by Grinsell and Goddard as Beechingstoke 1. The barrow, and a small henge (NMR UID 215182) sit within Marden Henge (NMR UID 215179). |
More information : SU 09195820 Hatfield Barrow (NR) (site of) (NAT)
Hatfield Barrow, listed by Grinsell as a bowl barrow, was destroyed before 1818. According to Gough, it was 70 or 80 yards in diameter and 50 feet high; when excavated by William Cunnington and Colt Hoare in 1807 it was 22 1/2 feet high and yielded some wood ashes, animal bones and two small deposits of human bones (secondary burials?). Cunnington believed the mound to be epulchral and although Hoare disagreed, the failure of their small excavation to find a primary interment in a mound covering an acre of ground is not surprising. Mrs Cunnington (6) suggests that the mound and the surrounding earthwork (SU 05 NE 3) may represent a motte and bailey, but excavations have shown the latter to be a henge monument and no finds later than Neolithic have been made on the site. The position of the barrow has been confirmed by a magnetometer survey - see plan (7).
There are no visible remains of this barrow.
The barrow was originally recorded as Beechingstoke 1 by Goddard. (9)
Andrews' and Dury's 1773 map of Wiltshire depicted the barrow but not the henge (10)
In 1768 the Reverend Mayo described the levelling of parts of the henge, while Cunnington's 1807 excavation of Hatfield Barrow, culminated in the spectacular collapse of the "Giant of Marden". Ploughing in the mid nineteenth century ensured there was apparently no trace left of the barrow by the 1860s. Wainright excavated part of Marden henge in the 1960s but only mentions the location of the barrow, not the form, found using magnetometer survey (as mentioned by authority 7 above). (11-12)
The barrow appears on aerial photographs to survive as very low mound sitting in a shallow scoop, which extends farther on the eastern side and is, possibly, partially surrounded by a ditch. Parch marks in grass suggest the survival of sub-surface remains of an asymmetric site about 75m across, comprising a mound c.55m across enclosed by a broad ditch or hollow. (13-14)
Geophysical survey of part of the barrow, by English Heritage in 2008, confirms the survival of sub-surface remains. (15)
Field investigation by English Heritage in 2009 confirmed the survival of the low spread mound but the barrow has been much disturbed by rig and furrow cultivation. (16)
Excavation by English heritage in 2010 identified a central posthole and evidence for tree clearance. (17)
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