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Black Down round barrow cemetery is a Neolithic or Bronze Age burial complex located on elevated ground in Somerset, comprising multiple burial mounds of archaeological significance. The site retains evidence of its ancient mortuary purpose despite later modifications. During the Second World War, the barrow complex and surrounding landscape were adapted for military defence, including the installation of anti-aircraft obstructions and a bombing decoy complex designed to protect against aerial attack. These wartime interventions represent a significant overlay of twentieth-century military heritage upon a monument of several millennia's antiquity, documenting the site's continued strategic importance across vastly different historical periods.
World War II bombing decoy complex, anti-aircraft obstructions and Beacon Batch round barrow cemetery on Black Down is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1020995. View the official record →
Black Down round barrow cemetery is a Neolithic or Bronze Age burial complex located on elevated ground in Somerset, comprising multiple burial mounds of archaeological significance. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1020995.
World War II bombing decoy complex, anti-aircraft obstructions and Beacon Batch round barrow cemetery on Black Down 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 1020995.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Romano-British settlement on Stoke Moor (8.4 km), Westbury village cross (8.4 km), Duck decoy east of Barrow Wood Lane (8.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of World War II bombing decoy complex, anti-aircraft obstructions and Beacon Batch round barrow cemetery on Black Down'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.
World War II bombing decoy complex, anti-aircraft obstructions and Beacon Batch round barrow cemetery on Black Down stands on Upper Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Late Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.