HER 546 DESCRIPTION:- Scheduled Monument Description:- A round barrow was recorded by Witts as "Haresfield Beacon : within the intrenchments of Haresfield Camp..." Crawford {Source Work 363} described it as 'large and fairly high, with a large hole in its centre and on its NE side' but Mrs O'Neil did not believe it to be a barrow but a feature of the hillfort (SO80NW17). Grinsell described it as being 20 paces in diameter and 4.5 ft in height, hollow in centre; Haresfield Beacon itself, lies immediately North of the tumulus.{Source Works 1267, 862.}. There can be little doubt that the feature shown as Haresfield Beacon on OS 25" (SO82030887) is in fact the barrow. It is about 18m in diameter and 2.0m high.{Source Work 862.} Mound visible on NMR APs {Source Work 3122.} extant. Area of former quarrying now grassed over to North East of this. Photographed incidentally.{pers comm S Brown} Possible round barrow on the top of the spur (highest point) surmounted by a trig point. In its present form it is only a roughly circular amorphous mound which in an area of quarrying does not appear to be particularly barrow-like. Grass covered.{Source Work 470.} There is some confusion over the identity of the round barrow and the beacon. At the West end of Ring Hill there are two amorphous mounds of a fairly regular round shape lying together. The northern of these is Haresfield Beacon (HER 696). South of it is a lower mound, the one described by Crawford and Grinsell but which Mrs O'Neil considers to be part of the rampart.{Source Work 488.} 1994-1995 - A survey of the Haresfield Beacon Estate was commissioned by the National Trust, & undertaken by Charles Parry of Gloucester CC Archaeology Service, during December 1994 - February 1995. The origin of the mound is uncertain; if not a barrow, it may represent a natural ground anomaly, being located below the level of the interior of Ring Hill, on geologically unstable ground designated by the OS Geological Survey as landslip and foundered strata. In 1995 the mound was under grass and in a stable condition. {Source Work 2705} AREA ASSESSMENT :- No plough damage.{Source Work 470.} 1998 - A site visit was made by Gloucestershire County Council Archaeology Service to view damage to the round barrow. A 1.5m wide hole had been excavated into the north west side of the barrow. Who did the damage and when it was done are not known. Scheduled Monument Consent will be needed before it can be repaired {Source Work 484.}. |