MSO6798 - Bronze Age barrow on Horsen Hill (Monument)

Summary

A Bronze Age bowl barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs taken in 1964. The monument has been damaged by excavation and stone robbing, and eroded by sheep scrapes.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

  • None recorded

Full Description

[SS 7891 3560] Tumulus (NR) [1] SS 7891 3560 Bowl barrow, 25 paces in diameter and 1.2 metres high with a slight hollow in the centre (Exmoor 19). and surmounted by an Ordnance Survey trig point. [2,3] This is a bowl barrow and is as described by Grinsell [3]. Published survey (1/2500) revised. [6] Exmoor 19. A bowl barrow is listed, details as [3] above. Visited by Grinsell 27th Sept 1961. This is part of group known as "Sherdon Barrows" (together with MSO6799) and was so called in Chase records of 1794 and 1819. [7] A barrow, centred at SS 7891 3560, is located on the summit of Horsen Hill. It consists of a grass and reed covered circular stony mound 22 to 25 metres in diameter (with a summit diameter of 13 to 14.5 metres) and 1.3 metres high. Traces of an encircling ditch, 4 metres wide and 0.2 metres deep, are visible especially on the northern side. A trench, 3 metres wide and 0.4 metres deep, has been cut into the west and east slopes of the barrow. The summit is hollowed, leaving a rim of material around the crests of the barrow scarp. In addition, a narrow, zig-zagging slot, 2 metres wide and 0.3 metres deep has been cut into the summit within the hollowed area. It is clear that these features represent a combination of excavation and stone robbing, and although superficially disturbed, it is proabable that most of the fabric of the barrow remains intact. Further slight erosion is occuring in the form of sheep scrapes on the mound. [8,9] The barrow described above is clearly visible on aerial photographs close to the summit of Horsen Hill. Several other barrows have been identified in the area (see MSO7051, MMO457 and MSO6799). [11] No further information. [12] A large, circular mound 25m in diameter and 1.3m high lies on the summit of Horsen Hill. Slight traces of a ditch are visible to the north of the mound. This is a reed filled hollow, 4m wide and less than 0.25m deep. This is one of three Bronze Age funerary monuments on the summit of Horsen Hill. A rectangular trench cut into the western side of the barrow is the remains of an unrecorded excavation. [13] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [14] The site is depicted on the 2021 MasterMap data. [15]

Sources/Archives (15)

  • <1> Map: Ordnance Survey. 1962. 6 Inch Map: 1962. 1:10560.
  • <2> Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Record Card. Site SS73NE4, 1965.
  • <3> Article in serial: Grinsell, L.V.. 1969. Somerset Barrows, Part 1: West and South. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Nat. 113. 33.
  • <4> Aerial photograph: Aerial photograph reference number . LHL CPE/UK/1980/4369.
  • <5> Unpublished document: McDonnell, R.. 1980. Gazetteer of Sites in the Exmoor National Park Identified through Aerial Photography. SS7835.
  • <6> Unpublished document: PALMER, JP. Mid 1960s. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey vist, 2 September 1965.
  • <7> Monograph: Collyns, C.P. 1902. The Chase of the Wild Red Deer. 221, 249 (ed L J Bathurst).
  • <8> Serial: Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. 1851-. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Volume 113 (1969), 17, 33.
  • <9> Unpublished document: Wilson-North, R.. Various. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 12 October 1994.
  • <10> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF 543/2821 (F61) 167-68 (27 April 1964 ) RAF 543/2821 (F61) 167-68 (27 April 1964).
  • <11> Archive: 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 73 NE. MD002190.
  • <12> Unassigned: Hancock, F.. 1902. REV Object Name Book. 10.
  • <13> Report: Riley, H.. 2016. Archaeological walkover survey: Horsen, Exmoor. 6.
  • <14> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 34992, Extant 16 November 2021.
  • <15>XY Map: Ordnance Survey. 2021. MasterMap data. 1:2,500. [Mapped feature: #40666 ]

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MMO45
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO10873
  • Local List Status (Unassessed)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 73 NE4
  • National Park
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 34992
  • Somerset SMR PRN (Somerset): 33011

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 7890 3560 (35m by 35m)
Map sheet SS73NE
Civil Parish EXMOOR, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Record last edited

Nov 16 2021 2:38PM

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