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The Cursus round barrow cemetery is a Bronze Age burial complex located in Wiltshire, England, comprising a bowl barrow and three bell barrows representing funerary monuments of the second millennium BCE. The bowl barrow, the simplest form of round barrow, consists of a mound of earth and stone heaped over a central burial, whilst the three bell barrows are distinguished by their characteristic form of a raised central mound surrounded by a ditch and outer bank, a refinement in barrow design that emerged during the earlier Bronze Age. The cemetery's grouping reflects burial practices whereby multiple monuments were clustered together, often representing successive generations or family groups, and the monuments' association with the Cursus—a Neolithic linear earthwork—indicates that this landscape held significant ritual and ceremonial importance across several millennia. Such barrow cemeteries represent key sources of archaeological evidence for Bronze Age burial customs, social hierarchy, and the continuity of sacred sites in Wiltshire's prehistoric landscape.
A bowl barrow and three bell barrows forming part of The Cursus round barrow cemetery is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012401. View the official record →
The Cursus round barrow cemetery is a Bronze Age burial complex located in Wiltshire, England, comprising a bowl barrow and three bell barrows representing funerary monuments of the second millennium BCE. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1012401.
A bowl barrow and three bell barrows forming part of The Cursus round barrow cemetery is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1012401.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Group of barrows W of Hooklands Plantation (6 km), Heale Hill round barrows and earthworks (6.1 km), Ancient cultivation terraces (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of A bowl barrow and three bell barrows forming part of The Cursus round barrow cemetery's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
A bowl barrow and three bell barrows forming part of The Cursus round barrow cemetery stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.