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Summary

The largest and most northerly of three barrow mounds ploughed down during World War II. Within the linear group of seven barrrows in Broad Down cemetery. Visible as a subtle earthwork mound on images derived from lidar data captured in 2016.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017642: Round barrow cemetery on Broad Down

Other References/Statuses

• MPP Archaeological Item Dataset: 144373
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SY19SE/23
• Old SAM County Ref: 241
• Old SAM Ref: 29634
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SY19SE 2

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC)

Full description

Ministry of Public Building and Works, Southleigh and Fairway Group of Barrows on Broad Down (Schedule Document). SDV342868.

One of four southern barrows in a row of seven destroyed by deep cultivation. Part of the southern section of a Bronze Age cemetery extending to Farway Hill and Gittisham Hill. Other details: Map, site 's'.

Kirwan, R., 1871, The Prehistoric Archaeology of East Devon, 302-3 (Article in Serial). SDV135842.

Other details: Plates 4-5.

Worth, R. N., 1880, 2nd Report of the Barrow Committee, 136-7 (Article in Serial). SDV123157.

Barrow opened in 1870. Diameter 120 feet, height 7 feet. Surrounded by a shallow fosse and a ring of large detached stones. There was a cairn of flints, covered with three or more feet of earth. The cist had fallen in. Burnt bones on the bark of a tree, the fragmentary remains of a spearhead or dagger and a rivet found. Three feet from these, a Kimmeridge coal cup was found. Other details: Barrow 61.

Fox, A., 1948, The Broad Down (Farway) Necropolis and the Wessex Culture in Devon, 18-19 (Article in Serial). SDV123165.

Other details: Barrow 47.

Gerloff, S., 1975, The Early Bronze Age Daggers of Great Britain (Monograph). SDV339147.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1982 - 1997, SY19SE2 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV342963.

Site visit 14th March 1957. Site only identifiable by slight rise and scatter of stones.
Site visit 1975. 21 metres diameter, 0.5 metres high.
Site visit 3rd February 1982. Barrow still visible in pasture as spread and rounded mound 21 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high. No ditch. Other details: Plan, site D.

Grinsell, L. V., 1983, The Barrows of South and East Devon, 35 (Article in Serial). SDV337013.

Site visit 17th July 1972. On arable land. Diameter 18 metres, height 0.3 metres. Other details: Barrow 32.

Pearce, S. M., 1983, The Bronze Age Metalwork of South Western Britain, 441-2 (Monograph). SDV341822.

Camerton/Snowshill dagger fragment, 2 lateral grooves, bi-convex section, 1 loose plug rivet, length 110 millimetres, width 40 millimetres, barrow E, Seven Barrows group. Cremation in tree trunk coffin inside stone cist covered by flints, with biconical shale cup. The next barrow also had a much decomposed piece of bronze.

Pearce, N., 1991, Tumulus (Worksheet). SDV342966.

Still visible as a spread mound, about 23 metres in diameter.

Simpson, S. J. + Noble, S., 1993, Archaeological Survey and Management Study of Areas on Gittisham Hill, Farway Hill, and Broad Down, East Devon, 23 (Report - Survey). SDV123162.

Condition on 4th November 1992 stable, in pasture land.

Salvatore, J. P., 1997, Bowl Barrow, Part of a Linear Group on Broad Down, 144373 (Un-published). SDV342964.

One of three barrow mounds ploughed very low, to bring the former heathland into production during World War II, within the linear group of seven on Broad Down. Three much more visible barrow mounds in the linear group which have largely escaped ploughing lie to the north whilst one further, now virtually invisible barrow lies to the south. This is the largest and most northerly of these low surviving mounds. It is 0.3 metres high and 27 metres in diameter, being slightly lower and more spread out than the Ordnance survey measurements of 1975.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 1998, Round Barrow Cemetery on Broad Down (Schedule Document). SDV342874.

One of a group of seven bowl barrows in linear formation aligned north-south over a distance of 220 metres with no more than 35 metres between any two of the mounds. All of these barrows, with the exception of the southernmost, lie north of the east-west road which bisects Broad Down. The three northernmost barrows of the linear group all have visibly defined mounds and have not suffered from the same degree of ploughing as others in the group, although one of them has a deep unfilled antiquarian excavation trench running across it. The remainder have been reduced in height whilst the rim of the southernmost barrow is barely visible at ground level. The height of the mounds within the linear group varies between 0.15 metres and 1.5 metres and their diameter varies between 12.5 metres and 27 metres; at least one of the group was found to have had a surrounding quarry ditch and was reported in excavation as having an overall diameter of 36 metres.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003-2004, East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Archaeological Survey, 495 (Archive - Survey). SDV351568.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 96 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Extensive significant problems. Principal vulnerability arable ploughing.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 87 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

Jones, A. M. + Quinnell, H., 2013, Daggers in the West; Early Bronze Age Daggers and Knives in the South-west Peninsula, 165 – 191 (Article in Serial). SDV361541.

Bluesky International, 2016, LiDAR DTM data (0.5m resolution) Blackdown Hills and East Devon AONBs: 3 transects, LIDAR SY1794 Bluesky International DTM 30-APR-2016 (Cartographic). SDV359714.

A subtle earthwork mound is visible.

Sims, R., Knight, S. & Houghton, E., 2020-2021, East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment (Interpretation). SDV363914.

The barrow is visible as a subtle earthwork mound on images derived from lidar data captured in 2016, indicating it has suffered from ploughing.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds

• FDV3115 - VESSEL (LANEBA to Unknown - 2200 BC)

Associated Events

• EDV8340 - East Devon AONB Lidar Assessment and Desk based Assessment

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