Attitudes to Disposal of the Dead - Gazetteer Query Form

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Site name Swell 8, Cow Common
Site number 349
Burial codes 4005 4009 4021 4023 4025 4028 4030 4035 4043 4048 4051 4065 4075 4084 4098 4101 4104 4105 4111 4112 4128 4141 4152 4153 4160 4181 4200
2500bc-14/1300bc A round barrow, the mound ploughed away, with no ditch, but an encircling rim of limestone rubble. There was a charcoal spread, with indications of timber planks or compressed logs of oak possibly sloping towards a cremation pit c0.7m in diameter x 0.12 deep. These may have been placed on the pre-barrow surface beside and over the pit. The cremation pit contained charcoal, calcined bone fragments of an adolescent (probably male), and ashy soil. There had been animal disturbances. Unburnt human bone occurred at two other points, possibly a secondary interment of a male disturbed by the barrow's destuction. Many very abraded potsherds were recovered, which were hard to securely identify because of their state. They were possibly fragments of Late Neolithic grooved ware, and collared urn. 474 flints were recovered, including 2 leaf-shaped arrow heads, 1 petit-tranchet, 2 such derivatives, a damaged barbed and tanged arrow head and 10 scrapers, but it was hard to relate them to the stratification of the barrow.

RC: from the charcoal spread HAR-1325 1480 +/- 80, HAR-1326 1440 +/- 80. If the wood was re-used from an earlier structure, then the barrow could be later.
Remains/Period Y4
County Gloucestershire
Region SW
National grid square SP
X coordinate 135
Y coordinate 262
Bibliographic source O'Neil and Grinsell 1960, Saville 1979b, Darvill and Grinsell 1989


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004