NHER 16286 (Monument record) - Bronze Age round barrow, burial and cremations

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Summary

An earthwork of a Bronze Age round barrow is visible on aerial photographs. Excavations in 1984 revealed a possible tree trunk coffin and a complete pot containing a cremation beneath the barrow, along with seven secondary cremations buried in the mound. The site has since been destroyed by gravel quarrying.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TF61NE
Civil Parish BAWSEY, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

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1946. Aerial photography. Armistice Plantation (now felled); above 15m (50ft) contour.
Mound; barrow like.
E. Rose (NAU), 9 July 1980.

October 1980.
Probable barrow, about 24m diameter, 0.7m high. Ditch about 3m across, 0.3m deep, signs of outer bank.
Site cut by firebreak on south; under trees since photograph taken.
A. Lawson (NAU), 1980.

May 1984. Excavation of barrow.
Sherd of Bronze Age collared urn and complete urn with band of decoration containing cremation found beneath old ground surface under mound.
Primary burial in possible tree trunk coffin with Beaker barbed and tanged arrowhead - cause of death? And crumbs of East Anglian bell beaker.
Seven secondary burials, all cremations only one in Bronze Age pot (collared urn comb impressed, child burial; another had pottery spoon with it). In ditch fill, worked flints.
A smaller irregular mound located to the 30m west of the barrow was investigated; may have been medieval warren or natural.
E. Rose (NAU) 15 October 1984.

Preliminary report in (S1) and (S2). Final report in (S3).

Newspaper reports (S4) and (S5) in file.

September 2007. ALSF NHER Enhancement Sub-Unit D.
The possible medieval rabbit warren is now recorded as NHER 50593.
M. Dennis (NLA) 21 September 2007.

January 2008. Norfolk NMP
An earthwork of a Bronze Age round barrow is visible on aerial photographs (S6-S13). The barrow is visible as a low mound surrounded by a narrow ditch. The mound is a slightly sub-circular plan with a diameter of approximately 23m. This round barrow was excavated in 1984 (S1-S3, S8-S12). The site has subsequently been destroyed by gravel extraction. A second mound located 30m to the west of this barrow has been numbered separately as NHER 50593. Although it was previously interpreted as a rabbit warren mound, this second mound was probably also a round barrow. A possible penannular earthwork enclosure has also been identified 50m to its north (NHER 50842).
J. Albone (NMP), 31 January 2008

  • --- Fiche: Exists.
  • --- Photograph: CNV-CNZ, CPA CPB, urn CUR 5-19, CXQ 5-6, reconstruction CUF.
  • --- Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • --- Slide: Various. Slide.
  • <S1> Article in Serial: Wymer, J. 1984. Excavation of the Bawsey Barrow 1984 Summary Report. NARG News. No 38 pp 1-6.
  • <S10> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1984. NHER TF 6619P-T (NLA 156/AXU21-5) 19-JUL-1984.
  • <S11> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Wallis, K.. 1984. NHER TF 6619U-AA (WALLIS/AYA1-7) 20-AUG-1984.
  • <S12> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Wallis, K.. 1984. NHER TF 6619AB-AK (WALLIS/AYA10-8) 20-AUG-1984.
  • <S13> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Wallis, K.. 1984. NHER TF 6619AL-ACH (WALLIS/AYA28-73) 20-AUG-1984.
  • <S2> Article in Serial: 1985. [unknown]. Current Archaeology. July, p 97.
  • <S3> Article in Monograph: Wymer, J. J. 1996. The Excavation of a Round Barrow at Bawsey, near King's Lynn, 1984. Barrow Excavations in Norfolk, 1984-88. East Anglian Archaeology. Wymer, J. J. No 77 pp 1-27. p 1 ff.
  • <S4> Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1981. Burial mound. 27 February.
  • <S5> Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1984. [Articles on the excavation of a Bronze Age barrow].
  • <S6> Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 3G/TUD/UK/100 5111-2 30-MAR-1946 (NHER TF 6519A / TF 6619A).
  • <S7> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Meridian Airmaps Limited. 1961. MAL 61504 96487-9 29-OCT-1961 (NMR).
  • <S8> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1984. NHER TF 6619A-D (NLA 151/SLIDE) 27-JUN-1984.
  • <S9> Oblique Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1984. NHER TF 6619E-N (NLA 152/AXG4-12) 05-JUL-1984.
  • HUMAN REMAINS (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • POT (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
  • AXEHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • BARBED AND TANGED ARROWHEAD (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • BLADE (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • BURNT FLINT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • COFFIN (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • CORE (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • FLAKE (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • HUMAN REMAINS (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • POT (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • SAMPLE (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • SPOON (Beaker - 2300 BC to 1700 BC)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Record last edited

Jan 17 2025 11:43AM

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