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Site name The Cop Round Barrow, Bledlow
Site number 923
Burial codes 4001 4005 4022 4023 4025 4028 4030 4035 4036 4042 4048 4051 4065 4071 4084 4098 4104 4111 4128 4143 4152 4153 4181 3002 3005 3022 3023 3025 3028 3030 3035 3036 3041 3048 3051 3053 3065 3075 3092 3098 3104 3111 3123 3125 3127 3128 3129 3143 3152 3153 3181
2500bc-14/1300bc A bowl barrow mutilated by past disturbance with no evidence for a ditch. The core of the mound appears to have been of local clay, and the general mound material had a 'promiscuous' scatter throughout of potsherds, animal bones (ox, pig, red deer and roe deer) including two complete ox jaws, 240 recorded struck flint flakes, 8 sandstone flakes, a greenstone axe and 19 fragments of iron pyrites. On the old ground surface and undisturbed in the south west quadrant were some burnt bones of a very young pig.

The primary interment (removed in later burial activity) had been in a pit, oriented NNE, dug 1.5m x 0.8m x 0.6m deep in the chalk barrow floor and filled with clay mould and chalky rubble. There were secondary burials of which one was datable to the Late Bronze Age.
14/1300bc-8/700bc In Pit 12 on the bowl barrow floor were a number of small sherds, one with a finger tip decoration of Late Bronze Age type, concentrated around the centre. The filling comprised of fine chalky soil with a considerable amount of osteoid ashes too indefinite for identification. 0.6m away at the same level were recovered several fragmentary pieces of bronze and a pair of bronze tweezers. There was some disturbance which renders the dating not absolutely secure.

In the elliptical Pit 19 there was a deposit of three rib bones, a portion of the orbital region and some other bones of a very small type of ox. In the centre of these bones but 5cm above them was laid a piece of neatly carved red deer antler, pierced in the centre and at both ends to form the assumed cheek piece of a bridle of Late Bronze Age type (cf Heathery Burn Cave). Pit 16 provided a sherd of Late Bronze Age type, and Pit 9 contained a large sherd in situ of Late Bronze Age date, unbroken and resting on its edge against the side of the pit. Pit 10 also contained a concentration of Late Bronze Age potsherds and animal bone. A number of other pits were found, some roughly picked out, others cleanly cut, many of which contained deliberate deposits of chalky soil and fragments of animal bone usually burnt, and where identifiable of ox and pig. Some complex activity is indicated by these deposits.

A Late Bronze Age knife dagger was also recorded, but not its find spot.
Remains/Period Y4 Y3
County Buckinghamshire
Region SE
National grid square SP
X coordinate 773
Y coordinate 11
Bibliographic source Head 1946, Farley 1992


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Last updated: Tues Aug 10 2004