Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a disc barrow,
situated on Kempsey Common, on a ridge of high ground overlooking the
floodplain of the River Severn. The barrow is one of three on the common, the
other two being c.70m east and c.90m SSW, the subjects of separate
schedulings.

The remains of this barrow include a circular area c.24m diameter, defined by
a low earthen bank, with an internal and external ditch. The bank is c.2.5m
wide and c.0.3m high, and material for its construction will have been
obtained from the flanking ditches. Both these features are now greatly
infilled, and are visible as slight depressions containing darker grass than
the surrounding area, measuring up to 3m across. The overall diameter of the
monument is therefore c.41m.

The enclosed area will originally have contained one or more low earthen
mounds, which have been removed or modified by tree planting. The remains of
several large tree stumps are visible in the enclosed area, and also within
the neighbouring barrows. These sites appear as wooded areas on early
20th century Ordnance Survey maps, and may have been planted in the mid-19th
century to provide a backdrop to Pirton Pool when viewed from Pirton Court
some 1.5km to the south east. In the north west quarter of the enclosed area
are the concrete foundations of a rectangular building, measuring 11m x 5m and
orientated south west-north east, which are the remains of a World War II
observation post. The trees were probably felled at this time to allow the
look-out uninterrupted views. The barrow's prominent position on high ground
is typical of Bronze Age burial monuments, and the clear views and high
visibility afforded by the site have attracted two episodes of reuse, one for
recreation and one for defensive purposes.

The monument is easily accessible to visitors to the common. A Roman road, now
partly overlain by the M5, passed north-south to the west of the barrows.

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

Disc barrows, the most fragile type of round barrow, are funerary monuments of
the Early Bronze Age, with most examples dating to the period 1400-1200 BC.
They occur either in isolation or in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups
of round barrows). Disc barrows were constructed as a circular or oval area of
level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and containing one or more
centrally or eccentrically located small, low mounds covering burials, usually
in pits. The burials, normally cremations, are frequently accompanied by
pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. It has been suggested that disc
barrows were normally used for the burial of women, although this remains
unproven. However, it is likely that the individuals buried were of high
status. Disc barrows are rare nationally, with about 250 known examples, most
of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides
important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst prehistoric
communities over a wide area of southern England as well as providing an
insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare and
fragile form of round barrow, all identified disc barrows would normally be
considered to be of national importance.

Disc barrows vary in form, and the double ditched variety is previously
unrecorded in the area, making the barrows on Kempsey Common particularly
interesting examples of this class of monument. Evidence for the burial or
burials within will be preserved below ground, and may include grave goods as
well as human remains. The bank will retain details of its method of
construction, and the ground surface sealed beneath it will retain
environmental evidence for land use immediately prior to the barrow's
construction. The fills of the ditches will preserve evidence for the
activities which took place at and around the barrow during and subsequent to
its use as a burial monument. All these elements will increase our
understanding of the technology and beliefs of the barrow builders. The close
association of the neighbouring barrows increases interest in the individual
monuments, and on a wider scale contributes to the picture of the Bronze Age
demography of the region. In its prominent position on high ground above the
Severn floodplain the monument commands impressive views across the
surrounding area. It is easily seen by visitors to the common.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Darvill, T C, MPP Single Monument Class Description - Fancy Barrows, (1988)
Price, E A, Kempsey Common, Council for British Archaeology Group 8 Bulletin, (1976)
Went, Dave, (1995)

Source: Historic England