Monument record MDO6040 - Round barrow overlain by ramparts of Badbury Rings, Shapwick

A Bronze Age round barrow, surviving as an earthwork but cut on its east side by a ditch of the second ringwork of Badbury Rings. The barrow is visible on aerial photographs and lidar imagery and was digitially plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M.

(Centred ST 961030) Tumuli (NR) (three shown). (1)

A group of round barrows W of Badbury Rings:

'A' ST 96040300. Bowl barrow, 60ft diameter and 3ft high immediately adjacent to the Romano-British settlement (ST 90 SE 39) (RCHM No 50, Grinsell's Shapwick No 11, Crawford's mound 'S').

'B' ST 96060304. Possible barrow consisting of an oval-shaped mound 30ft by 40ft and 1 foot high damaged by modern tracks and cut by the side ditch of Roman Road (RR 4c) (RCHM no 51, Grinsell's Shapwick No 10, Crawford's mound 'T').

'C' ST 96100311. Bowl barrow, 30ft diameter and 1 1/2ft high. (RCHM No 52, Grinsell's Shapwick No 9, Crawford's mound 'K').

'D' ST 96200310. Bowl barrow, 40ft diameter and 3ft high immediately within the outer rampart of Badbury Rings. (RCHM No 55; Grinsells Shapwick No 15; Crawford's mound V)

'E' ST 96200294. Crawford's probable barrow 'W' partly covered by theramparts of Badbury Rings. (Not mentioned by RCHM or Grinsell). (2-4)

Barrows 'A' to 'E' were field investigated in 1954.

A faint unsurveyable ditch surrounding Barrow 'D' was visible in all quadrants except the W when it was overlain by the outer rampart of Badbury Rings. Barrow 'E' consisted of a semi-circular mound, 15.0m N-S and 9.0m E-W with a maximum height of 1.0m. The unusual shape was thought to be due to quarrying for material during construction of Badbury Rings. The evidence suggested that the mound was the remains of a Bronze Age bowl barrow. (5)

Barrow `E' surveyed by RCHME in April 1993. As described by authority 5. Located on W side of middle rampart, some 30m S of southern entrance to barbican. E side has been cut by the outer lip of the rampart ditch. Some quarrying has taken place on the W side. (6)


A Bronze Age round barrow, surviving as an earthwork but cut on its east side by a ditch of the second ringwork of Badbury Rings. The barrow is visible on aerial photographs and lidar imagery (2-3) and was digitially plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AI&M. The mound measures some 13 metres north-south by 7.5 metres east-west. It survives to a maximum height of approximately 1 metre. (1)

National Record of the Historic Environment, 209534 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1902 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred ST 961030) Tumuli (NR) (three shown)

Donachie, J D, 1994, RCHME Field Survey Report: Badbury Rings Hillfort, Shapwick, Dorset (Monograph). SDO19358.

Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 26-MAR-54 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<1> Papworth, M, 1994, Shapwick Parish, Kingston Lacy Estate, Wessex Region, 73 (Unpublished document). SDO14228.

A Bronze Age round barrow cut on the east side by a ditch of the second ringwork of Badbury Rings. This burial mound is a prominent rise 1.0m high it measures 13m from the north to south and 7.5m from east to west. The relationship between the hill fort and barrow demonstrates the disregard of the Iron Age fort builders to the burial grounds of their Bronze Age ancestors.

<2> Alexander Kieller Collection, 14-JUL-1924, ALK 7415/257 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18098.

<3> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

Record last edited

Dec 24 2023 8:30AM