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Group of three bowl barrows 180m south of Tyning's Farm: part of the Tyning's Farm round barrow cemetery

A Scheduled Monument in Cheddar, Somerset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.3037 / 51°18'13"N

Longitude: -2.7617 / 2°45'42"W

OS Eastings: 346996.154338

OS Northings: 156336.652616

OS Grid: ST469563

Mapcode National: GBR JH.Y41S

Mapcode Global: VH89B.2HVG

Entry Name: Group of three bowl barrows 180m south of Tyning's Farm: part of the Tyning's Farm round barrow cemetery

Scheduled Date: 19 July 1933

Last Amended: 8 April 1992

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1012594

English Heritage Legacy ID: 13878

County: Somerset

Civil Parish: Cheddar

Traditional County: Somerset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Somerset

Details

The monument includes a group of three bowl barrows located on level ground
180m south of Tyning's Farm. The barrows form part of a dispersed round
barrow cemetery.
The northernmost barrow consists of a barrow mound 20m in diameter and c.2.5m
high at its highest point. The central bowl barrow comprises a mound 17m in
diameter and c.1.75m high at its highest point. The southernmost bowl barrow
consists of a mound 20m in diameter and c.1.75m high at its highest point.
Although no longer visible at ground level, all three barrow mounds are
surrounded by ditches from which material was quarried during their
construction. These have become infilled over the years but survive as buried
features c.3m wide. The ditch surounding the central mound is known from
excavation to be c.1.8m deep with a causeway on the southwest side.
All three barrows were partially excavated by R.F.Read in 1924 and by H.
Taylor in 1932. Finds from the excavation of the northernmost included a
cremation burial, contemporary with the construction of the monument, in an
upright ceramic urn. A second later cremation burial was found with three
small ceramic cups.
Finds from the central barrow included a double cremation burial contemporary
with the construction of the monument placed in and around an inverted ceramic
urn set on a limestone slab. In addition burnt logs or boards, flint
arrowheads, saddle querns, and a spindle whorl were also reported. Read's
excavation also demonstrated that a second barrow mound had been constructed
on the first and the causeway moved from the southwest to the east.
Finds from the southernmost barrow included human bone and flint arrowheads.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The group of three bowl barrows 180m south of Tyning's Farm survive well
despite areas of localised disturbance caused by partial excavation of the
barrow mounds. The monument contains archaeological and environmental
evidence relating both to the barrows and the landscape in which they were
constructed.
Numerous other burial monuments of the same date also survive in the area.
Such evidence gives an indication of the intensity of occupation and the
nature of social organisation present in the area during the Bronze Age
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural Hist Soc' in Somerset Barrows Part II, , Vol. Vol 115, (1971), 96
Read, R F, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Excavation Of Mendip Barrows, , Vol. Vol 2, (1924), 137-9
Read, R F, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Excavation Of Mendip Barrows, , Vol. Vol 2, (1924), 139-41
Read, R F, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Excavation Of Mendip Barrows, , Vol. Vol 2, (1924), 142-3
Taylor, H, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Tyning's Farm Barrows: Third Report, , Vol. 6(2), (1951), 131
Taylor, H, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Tyning's Farm Barrows: Third Report, , Vol. 6(2), (1951), 111&119
Taylor, H, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Tyning's Farm Barrows: Third Report, , Vol. 6(2), (1951), 129-31
Taylor, H, 'Proceedings of the Univ of Bristol Speleological Society' in Tyning's Barrow Group, Second Report, , Vol. 4(2), (1933), 67-127
Tratman, E K, 'University of Bristol Speleological Society' in Barrow Catalogue, ()
Tratman, E K, 'University of Bristol Speleological Society' in Barrow Catalogue, ()
Tratman, E K, 'University of Bristol Speleological Society' in Barrow Catalogue, ()
Other
11429, 11429, (1991)
Porter, D K and Austin, L, (1991)
ST45NE58, Ordnance Survey, ST45NE58,

Source: Historic England

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