Barrow - ring-barrow

The National Monuments Service's description

In undulating pasture, located in a slight dip on the N side of a hillock. There are excellent views of the surrounding countryside, with the Ox Mountains dominating the skyline to E and SE.
This ringbarrow is not shown on the 1837-8 and the 1922 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a low, circular platform (6m N-S; 5.5m E-W; H 0.6m) enclosed by a well-defined fosse (Wth 2.2; ext. D 0.95m) and remnants of an external bank. The bank has been largely levelled; a slight rise is still evident in parts, but it is evident mainly as a cropmark (Wth 1.6m). The central platform appears to be earthen, composed of fine sandy soil. A concentration of boulders occupies most of the platform. The largest boulder (H 1.2m; circ. 4.45m) is slightly off-centre to S. It occupies a shallow depression and appears to rest on a number of smaller stones. Adjacent to the NE, is a narrow, recumbent stone (L 1.3m; Wth 0.4m), oval in cross-section. To N of this, is an upright boulder (H 1.05m; circ. 2.4m), which appears to be set in the ground. Several smaller stones are scattered over the surface. The haphazard arrangement of the boulders and stones suggests that some, at least, are the result of field clearance. The depth and sharp definition of the fosse contrasts with the degraded nature of the bank, and may be result of modern activity; OPW field notes record a number of channels or drains cutting through the bank (SMR file). The ringbarrow was enclosed within a rectilinear enclosure (c. 33m E−W; c. 22m N−S), defined by a field bank. This enclosure is shown on the 1922 OS 6-inch map, although the barrow is not. The enclosure, which was levelled during land reclamation works, is likely to have dated to the modern era.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 5 July 2018