NHER 6920 (Monument record) - Middle Bronze Age round barrow and cremations

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Summary

This barrow is situated on a small steep-sided promontory above the River Ant and was excavated in the 1930s, 1948 and 1954. Initially no evidence was found, but trial trenching in 1948 indicated a very large fire beneath the centre of the mound. Full excavation in 1954 indicated that the barrow was originally 9.75m in diameter and nearly 1.85m high with a surrounding ditch 1.21m wide and 46cm deep. Near the centre of this may have been a burial, although no traces of bones or grave goods survive. A secondary enlargement of the barrow took place soon after the initial building. The top was levelled and a pit dug, in which a cremation appears to have taken place. The mound was then enlarged to a diameter of 15.24m. Following this seven urns containing cremated bone were inserted into the southern side. All of the assemblages date to the Middle Bronze age period.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG33SW
Civil Parish	WITTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

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Full Description

Ditched bowl barrow in wood on heath.
Around 50ft (15m) diameter, 5ft (1.5m) high.
Sand and clay.

Around 1936.
Hole dug in centre by [1].

1946.
Trench dug by [2] - cremated bones and charcoal found.

1954-5.
Complete excavation by [2]; inner ditch found under mound-enlarged.
Original mound was 32ft (9.7m) with evidence of inhumation.
In early Middle Bronze Age central cremation and enlargement to 50ft (15m) diameter.
Then six Early-Late Middle Bronze Age cremations inserted.
Small bronze awl with bones in latest collared urn.
Section and plan Clarke 1960.
Finds in NCM [3].
Information from NCM card (S1) by R. R. Clarke (NCM).
Reported in (S4).

See file for further details.

Much mutilated mound still visible in trees in plantation.
Mound 15m wide, 1.5m high; ditch 5m wide, 1.7m deep.
A. J. Lawson (NAU), 7 January 1976.

For detailed discussion see (S2).
E. Rose.

OS field recorder measured mound as 11.0m diameter, height 0.2m.
Compare with ours.
R. J. Rickett (NLA), February 1990.

July 2001.
Trees on barrow have been felled, with stumps left in situ. A little bramble to south and bracken in ditch to east. Well managed under forest conservation plan.
H. Paterson (A&E), 27 September 2001.

Associated Sources (9)

--- SNF87559 Article in Serial: Clarke, R. R. 1955. Other Archaeological Excavations, 1954. Norfolk Research Committee Bulletin. Series 1 No 7 (for 1954) p 2.
--- SNF6822 Publication: Longworth, I. H. 1984. Collared Urns: Of the Bronze Age in Great Britain and Ireland. Nos 979-984.
--- SNF87258 Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Bronze Age. Witton [2].
--- SNF57204 Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 33 SW 2 [3].
--- SNF8804 Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1> SNF57722 Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
<S2> SNF2791 Article in Monograph: Lawson, A. J. 1983. The Archaeology of Witton, near North Walsham. East Anglian Archaeology. No 18.
<S3> SNF2285 Article in Serial: Clarke, R. R. 1957. Archaeological Discoveries in Norfolk 1949-54. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXXI Pt IV pp 395-416. p 397.
<S4> SNF2236 Serial: 1954. Council for British Archaeology Group VII Bulletin of Archaeological Discoveries. No 1. p 3.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (6)

Object Types (4)

AWL (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
HUMAN REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
POT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
POT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Related NHER Records (0)

Find out more...(1)

Witton (North Norfolk) (Parish Summary)

Record last edited

Jun 21 2016 9:16AM