2015

SP8306 : Bronze Age Bowl Barrow on Beacon Hill

taken 9 years ago, near to Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, England

Bronze Age Bowl Barrow on Beacon Hill
Bronze Age Bowl Barrow on Beacon Hill
Having scaled the steep slope to the top of Beacon Hill, you are rewarded with fine views - and this distinct depression in the top of the hill.
I can do little better than to quote the authoritative EH listing LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link )
"Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC ... Despite being disturbed by past investigation and reuse, the bowl barrow on Beacon Hill survives well as a landscape feature, standing out from the horizon when viewed from lower ground to the north, east and west"
See also SP8306 : View westwards from the top of Beacon Hill showing part of the western side of this barrow.
Cymbeline's Castle & Beacon Hill

Adjacent to Beacon Hill to the west is an ancient Motte & Bailey system known as Cymbeline's Castle (or Mount). Any connection with the ancient British king - whom Shakespeare wrote a play about - is I think speculative at best. However it has been suggested that the nearby Kimbles (Little & Great) are named after him, so it does at least have some plausible link back to pre-Roman times. Although Shakespeare used the name Cymbeline (for his entirely fictional tale), this 1st Century king who ruled a large area of Southern England before the Roman invasion, is more generally known historically as Cunobelinus, though he is known also by various other names such as Cynfelyn and Kymbelinus.
The motte and bailey(s) are overgrown with impenetrable scrub - and surrounded by barbed wire, so access to the site is unfortunately not possible, however if you scale Beacon Hill, the views down to it are very good.
Cymbeline's Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and there is an extensive and informative write up on the EH website here LinkExternal link
Beacon Hill itself looks an eminently suitable place for a hill fort, and it too is a Scheduled Ancient Monument as it is the site of a Bronze Age Bowl Barrow see LinkExternal link
Just south of the barrow is another S.A.M., A Pillow Mound LinkExternal link thought to be associated with the breeding of rabbits on the hill.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Place: Ellesborough Period: Bronze Age Primary Subject: Barrow other tags: Bowl Barrow Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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SP8306, 73 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 18 April, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 28 April, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 8356 0622 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:44.9073N 0:47.4606W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 8355 0622
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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