More information : SV 888085 Obadiah's Barrow.
Obadiah's Barrow, 60 yds north west of Carn Valla (SV 80 NE 4)
excavated by Bonsor in 1901 and named after Obadiah Hicks of
St Agnes with whom he lodged (2). Numbered Hencken 1, Daniel 5.
Bonsor's excavation, see illustrations (2) (3), showed it to
have been previously disturbed at the entrance but the main
chamber had not been damaged.
The deposition and list of finds is shown clearly by Ashbee,
see illustration (4).
The deposit under stones 3, 4 and 5 was practically undisturbed
and at a depth of 80cms was a layer of hard blackish soil upon
which the urns had been placed, only one of which remained
intact (2).
Bonsor's "contracted burial remains" appear to Ashbee (4) to
be the remains of an assemblage of unburned but disarticulated
bones.
Hencken (3) notes the similarity of the pottery to that of the
Early Bronze Age in Brittany and Cornwall and Ashbee discusses
the possibility of simultaneous deposition of previous
cremations rather than use over a long period of time.
In Sept 1967 the Museum was presented with a Bronze Age
funerary urn and ashes from 'Obadiah's Barrow'. Acc No 1078.
'Obadiah's Barrow' (name confirmed) is a chambered cairn at
SV 88800851 south east of Kittern Hill. Its diameter is 7.0m
and height 0.6m. About ten kerb-stones are visible in the
retaining circle. The chamber, extending right across the
cairn, measures 5.2m x 1.4m x 1.1m and is in good preservation.
There are three capstones (one in situ), the largest measuring
2.6m x 0.8m x 0.7m. The chamber is orientated north west-south
east.
Surveyed at 1:2500 on PFD.
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