Monument record MDO47293 - Mounds, Askerwell Down, Litton Cheney

Two mounds, now ploughed out. When first recorded these mounds were considered possibly to be round barrows, but excavation in 1957 showed them to be spoil heaps.

Two mounds each 6 paces in diameter and 2 1/2 ft high. Both are doubtful bowl barrows, and may be upcast from fairly recent diggings. <2>

Probably spoil heaps. <3>

Two grass covered mounds, each 6.0m in diameter and 0.7m high, with no visible surrounding ditches. Both mounds are in poor condition, dug into and rabbitted. There has been much surface quarrying in the vicinity, and the mounds may be heaps of overburden. Doubtful bowl barrows. <4>

Spoil mounds. <5>

Mounds now ploughed out and deleted from field doc. <6>

Both mounds were excavated in 1956 and shown to be mounds of earth, probably spoil from quarring. <7>

Full excavation report. (8)
(These overlay Iron Age features. See SY 59 SE 78)

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

["A" SY 55119183] ["B" SY 55119182] TUMULI [OE]

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1935-54, Dorset Barrows 1935-54 Manuscript (Unpublished document). SWX1556.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 137 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(14) BOWL BARROW and MOUNDS, to the N. of the road and 1,180 yards N. of the church. The barrow, (a), 270 yards W. of the cross-roads, is 33 ft. in diam. and 2½ fft. High. The two mounds, (b), 233 yards W. of the barrow, 19 ft. in diam. and 3 ft. high and (c), immediately N.E. of (b), 25 ft. in diam. and 3½ ft. high, may be barrows but are more probably spoil heaps.’

<4> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 27-APR-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<5> Colquhoun, F D, Field Investigators Comments FDC, FDC 05-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SWX2609.

<6> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Large Scale/Small Scale Map Reviser's comments, ss 6" (A.MeVie. Revised 25-JAN-1956) (Verbal communication). SDO19451.

<7> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1957, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1956, 84 (Serial). SDO56.

<8> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1959, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1958, 160-77 (Serial). SDO58.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 451100 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 31 2023 12:15PM