Monument record MDO6089 - Bowl Barrow north of Wor Barrow, Sixpenny Handley

A round barrow of probable Neolithic origin, located a short distance north of Wor Barrow. The barrow was excavated by Colt Hoare, who found traces of a skeleton in the mound, and later General Pitt-Rivers, who found an intrusive Romano-British burial in the irregular ditch. Traces of a wooden coffin were found with this later burial. In 1975 this monument was described as an earthwork around 50 feet in diameter with a mound about 3 feet high.

The barrow had been briefly examined by Cunnington and Colt Hoare in the early 19th century, but was more extensively excavated in 1894 by Pitt Rivers. At the time of the latter excavation, the mound was circa 0.85 metres high, surrounded by an irregular ditch 17.5 metres in diameter with a single causeway on the south east. A single pit partially blocked this causeway. Pitt Rivers claimed to have "found nothing of interest in the interior". A pit just outside the ditch to the northeast contained some red deer antler fragments. An extended inhumation inserted into the ditch was surrounded by iron coffin nails and was presumed to be of Roman date. <1-4> The site has been re-examined more recently by Barrett et al <6> who noted the presence of a sherd of Mortlake Ware from the lower ditch filling. Re-analysis of Pitt Rivers plan also suggested at least 3 phases in the construction of the monument (or at least the ditch): a ring or partial ring of deeper segments up to 3 metres long and 1.5 metres deep; a causewayed ring ditch with at least nine ditch segment, most of them under 5 metres long; and a shallow ring ditch, the construction of which removed all but one of the causeways. It is not clear which or how many contributed to the mound. It is unclear if there was a primary burial, though Colt Hoare <1> mentioned human bones, stating that "the intements had been disturbed by the intersection of a boundary ditch. The fragments of bones intermixed with the soil seem to indicate that skeletons were originally deposited…".

Record last edited

Jul 5 2022 5:16PM