More information : [TQ 71047465] Barrow Hill [TI.]
A natural weathered outlier of Thanet Sand. (see AP. 8451)
A.P. 8451 shows a very clear ditch round this feature, but no
trace of other mounds in Higham Marshes. The crouches burial
with Porosphaera beads may have been found here, see TQ77SW11
Barrow Hill is a naturally weathered mass of Thanet Sand. It
was dug into by Mr. George Payne and the scars of his excavation
may still be seen.
George Payne in his Archaeological Survey of the County Kent
makes no mention of this site. (Archaeologia Vol.51 1889
pp 1-22 map).
A natural irregular-shaped, turf covered mound, approximatled
3.0m in height with a central mutilation, and other slight
hollows in the sides. Outside the main mound and separated
from it by a barn is a slight ditch with traces of an outer bank.
This has been destroyed on the eastern side by the present deep
drainage ditches. The ditch may have been dug for drainage
purposes. Similar shallow ditches exist elsewhere on these
marshes.
However, as this mound is the only feature of its kind on
Higham Marshes, it would have been the obvious choice of site
for a burial as suggested by Authority 3. It is recognised
locally as a sacred place.
An antiquity model 25" survey has been made.
No change; published survey 25"(1963), checked & correct.
The earthwork remains of the large irregular sub-circular mound known as Barrow Hill, described by the previous authorities was seen within Higham Marshes at TQ 7104 7467 on aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery. It measured c.70m x 80m with a slight bank enclircling the low mound. Traces of earlier excavations could be seen as slight depressions in the top of the mound. This site was mapped from aerial photographs and lidar imagery as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. (8-9)
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