Scheduled Monument: TWYFORD HENGE AND ROUND HILL BOWL BARROW (1011436)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION Henges are ritual or ceremonial centres which date to the Late Neolithic period (2800-2000 BC). They were constructed as roughly circular or oval- shaped enclosures comprising a flat area over 20m in diameter enclosed by a ditch and external bank. One, two or four entrances provided access to the interior of the monument, which may have contained a variety of features including timber or stone circles, post or stone alignments, pits, burials or central mounds. Finds from the ditches and interiors of henges provide important evidence for the chronological development of the sites, the types of activity that occurred within them and the nature of the environment in which they were constructed. Henges occur throughout England with the exception of south-eastern counties and the Welsh Marches. They are generally situated on low ground, often close to springs and water-courses. Henges are rare nationally with about 80 known examples. As one of the few types of identified Neolithic structures and in view of their comparative rarity, all henges are considered to be of national importance. Twford henge is a good example of a Class II henge which, although disturbed by past and current agricultural practices, nevertheless retains substantial archaeological remains, both in the buried ditch and on the old land surface preserved beneath the later bowl barrow. Bowl barrows are prehistoric funerary monuments which date from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age (c.2400-1500 BC) and were constructed as hemispherical mounds of rubble or earth covering single or multiple burials. Sometimes ditched, they occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as foci for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, though differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally, with many more having already been destroyed. Their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important evidence on burial practices and social organisation among early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Round Hill bowl barrow is a large and reasonably well- preserved example which, although it has suffered some damage to its profile, is still largely intact. Both the barrow and the henge are important not only in their own right but as elements in a wider prehistoric ritual landscape which survives in the surrounding area. DETAILS The monument includes a henge and the bowl barrow known as Round Hill. The henge does not survive as an upstanding feature but its construction ditch has been identified from aerial photographs and survives as a buried feature beneath modern horticultural land. It encloses a roughly circular area and has an external diameter of c.80m. Opposing entrances have been identified on the north-west and south-east sides and, formerly, a bank followed the outer edge. The centrally placed bowl barrow includes a roughly circular earthen mound with an average diameter of c.30m and a height of c.3m. No recorded excavation of the barrow has been carried out but its form assigns it to the Bronze Age. SELECTED SOURCES Book Reference - Author: Brown, A G - Date: 1993 - Type: PERS COMM Book Reference - Author: Pickering, J - Type: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH - Description: NMR 3328/2,5,9,14,15 Book Reference - Author: St Joseph, J K - Type: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH - Description: AFY 31-33