Summary

A mound on a prominent knoll 300m south of Ivinghoe Beacon (from 151504)

Identification Images (1)

Most Recent Monitoring

None Recorded

Monument Types

Description

A mound on a prominent knoll 300m south of barrow151505. This barrow is of undetermined period, but would seem likely to be of Bronze Age origin, in keeping with the other barrow monuments in the vicinity. It is not scheduled. It measures 12 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres in height. In winter the grass on the mound shows up green against that in the surrounding landscape and rabbit holes reveal earth rather than chalk. Wainwright suggests [2] that this mound has been mistakenly missed out in the scheduling of monuments in the area. He suggests that this barrow fits the description of Ivinghoe no.4 in Dyer's account of the Ivinghoe barrows [1] but argues that the accompanying grid reference is for the smaller barrow 151505. This he feels has led to the smaller barrow being scheduled and shown on the Ordnance Survey map rather than the present monument NTSMR151506.

Wainwright further suggests that this particular monument is of scraped-up turf and topsoil rather than constructed from a surrounding ditch. There is a hole on one side which appears to be a 'fox hole' constructed when the area was used for military training during WWII.

The present grid reference has been obtained by making judgements based on Wainwright's survey plan.

(G Marshall)

Brief Description of Round Barrow Cemeteries.

Round barrows (of which a bowl barrow is one type) date to the Bronze Age (2000-700B.C.).They usually comprise of fairly closely spaced groups of up to 30 barrows. The construction is that of rubble or earth being piled up to cover single or multiple burials. In the case of the bowl barrow type, the mound material was principally obtained by digging a circular ditch and heaping the spoil in the centre to cover the burial. The surrounding ditches often silt up over time, but are usually visible as faint depression or as a crop mark.Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries They were also often re-used for secondary burials as in the case of Anglo-Saxon burials. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow. Occasionally earlier forms of long barrow are associated with round barrow cemeteries. Wherever large scale excavation has been undertaken beyond barrows, contemporary and/or later "flat" burials have been found. This should be taken into consideration when assessing how best to manage the overall barrow cemetery landscape.
Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex and in some cases they cluster around other monuments such as henges.

(M Solik)

References

Designations

None Recorded

Other Statuses and References

Associated Events

Associated Finds

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Related Records