Scheduled Monument: Three Hills Round Barrows (1013319)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The round barrows known as Three Hills lie 250m to the west of Addington Road and are located approximately 0.9km south-west of the village of Woodford. The monument consists of three Bronze Age bowl barrows which are contiguous and situated in a line on a NNW to SSE orientation. The most northerly of the three barrows is a round mound approximately 20m in diameter and 2m high with a flat top about 7m across. Immediately to the SSE lies the mound of a second bowl barrow which is also 20m in diameter and is 2m in height. The third bowl barrow, lying to the SSE of the second, is 24m in diameter and 2m in height. Each of the three barrows touches the adjoining barrow at its base and there is the slight impression of a ditch c.3m wide surrounding the whole monument. The barrows are shown in their present form on a map of 1731. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although 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 (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. These three barrows are exceptionally well preserved and form an unusual grouping for Northamptonshire.

Record last edited

Jun 6 2023 12:30PM