Scheduled Monument: 2 Bowl Barrows & a Henge 600m E of Mill Hill Farm (1012148)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument is situated approximately 600m east of Mill Hill Farm and includes the buried remains of two barrows and a henge which have been identified from aerial photographs. The henge is roughly circular in plan with an overall diameter of 42m. The interior is enclosed by a ditch, approximately 4m wide. The ditch is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs which show that the cut and fill will survive as buried features below the present ploughsoil. In the northern part of the henge, a linear feature which runs parallel with the ditch has also been identified from aerial photographs and this may represent the buried remains of an inner ditch. There are further intermittent traces of this feature in the south western and south eastern parts of the site. A gap in the ditch probably represents a causeway across the south eastern section. To the south east of the henge are the buried remains of two bowl barrows, the defining ditches of which are also visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The barrows are aligned north west-south east. The barrow situated 5m from the henge is sub-circular in plan with a maximum diameter of 16m, while that located approximately 40m to the south east of the henge is 22m in diameter. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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. Henges are a particularly rare category of site in the central Midlands, where only a handful have been identified. All of them have now been reduced to crop mark sites visible on aerial photographs. The site of the henge to the east of Mill Hill Farm survives as a well-defined cropmark. The archaeological deposits which form the fill of the buried ditches will survive intact and will provide information about the function of the monument and, more generally, evidence of the society which built and used it. The site gains additional interest from its close relationship with at least two barrows, now also surviving as cropmarks; which may provide evidence for the continuing use of the site in the Bronze Age and later.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2023 9:47AM