MDE20283 - Bronze Age bowl barrows on Cosgate Hill (Monument)

A group of four bowl barrows. A at SS 7922 4873, 7 paces in diameter and 1 foot high. B at SS 7925 4871, 8 paces in diameter and 2 feet high. C at SS 7927 4870, 5 paces in diameter and 9 inches high, and D at SS 7928 4869, 9 paces in diameter and 2 feet high. All were found by Grinsell in September 1961. [1] Four, apparently undisturbed, heather covered bowl barrows, there are no traces of surrounding ditches, but a depression between A and B may be the result of soil scrape. 'A' SS 7925 4873. Diameter 8.0 metres, height 0.6 metres. 'B' SS 7927 248718: Diameter 5.5 metres, height 0.5 metres. 'C' SS 79274 48712: Diameter 4.5 metres; height 0.4 metres, contiguous on northwestern side with 'B'. 'D' SS 7927 4870: Diameter 9.0 metres; height 0.7 metres. Surveyed at 1:2500. [2] A group of three amorphous mounds, centred at SS 792 487, are as described by [2]. They are unlikely to be prehistoric barrows, and are reminiscent of upcast mounds, although there is no attendant pit or disturbance. [3] Three possible barrows lie to the west of the modern car park, along the line of the trackway, overlooking Ashton Cleave at about 335 metres above Ordnance Datum. Feature C, SS 7927 4871, is a compacted turf covered stony mound 5.3 metres in diameter and 1.1 metre high covered in gorse and heather. Feature B, SS 7927 4872, is a stony mound 4.7 metres in diameter and 0.8 metres high; the feature is sharp on the northern edge. Feature A, SS 7925 4873, is a heather and gorse covered stony mound 6 metres in diameter and 0.8 metres high; possibly flat topped or disturbed. The consolidated nature of the features would suggest they are more likely to be prehistoric barrows than upcast mounds. The features were recorded at 1:2500 scale using GPS equipment as part of an archaeological survey of the Cosgate Hill area. The survey was undertaken by the Exeter office of English Heritage at the request of the Exmoor National Park Authority. A report was compiled as part of the survey work and is available from the NMRC, Swindon. N.B. The NRHE data for this record states that Feature A in the report is Feature C and Feature C in the report is Feature A. The above labels for the features are those taken from the report directly. The mapping for this record is taken from this report. [4-7] The three barrows mentioned by [5] were included in the Scheduling for Bronze Age barrows on Cosgate Hill in August 2016. It was noted that "No external ditches have been identified; however, it is likely that some of the barrows will include the buried remains of a surrounding ditch, from which the construction material was derived." [8] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [9]