AC Smith Maps: Map I. Squares 49 to 54

Berwick Bassett, Winterbourne Monkton

Square 50:
a. Circular tumulus, probably a barrow. Merewether examined it in 1849; in the side he found teeth of deer, oxen and bones, charred wood and a small sarsen "partially rubbed." Reported in "Proceedings of Archaeological Institute, Salisbury volume", p. 104, No. 24.
b. Long low tumulus, believed a barrow. Merewether found part of an ox skull and fragments of horn from deer and oxen. About a foot from the surface was the skull of a greyhound with a Roman ampulla; below was a sarsen stone. (ref as above, No. 26)
c. A circular tumulus similar to a. Merewether found similar remains, also a sarsen 3" in diameter, rubbed down to a cylindrical form, and the front teeth of an ox. (ref as above, No. 25)
d. Small bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch, opened at top.
e. Very low bowl-shaped barrow with ditch and a sarsen on the top; possibly Merewether's No. 28. Merewether described lifting 3 sarsens on the top of a mound; beneath were fragments of an urn, containing the skull bones of a very young person. Near the top was a sarsen, rounded and about 2" in diameter. The barrow was made of very coarse chalk rubble, with no bones or pottery. Five feet down were the skulls of 2 oxen side by side; both had holes from pole-axing. Five feet below these and ten feet from the top, was a crouched adult skeleton, with an urn and a few worked flints. Reported in "Proceedings of Archaeological Institute, Salisbury volume", p. 105, No. 28.
f. Circular depression like a shallow basin, with bank and ditch, possibly a disc-shaped barrow. Merewether described four large sarsens in the centre; beneath them were ox and deer bones and teeth, more large sarsens and boar's tusks. (ref as above, pp. 103, 104, No. 27)
g. Holes and pits, probably the marks of British dwellings.
h. Bank and ditch, apparently old.
i. Moderate-sized bowl-shaped barrow, opened at top.
k. Low bowl-shaped barrow without ditch, opened at top.
l. Low bowl-shaped barrow without ditch, opened at top.
m. Very low, flat, bowl-shaped barrow without ditch, opened by a trench cut through the middle.
n. Large high bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch. Large hole in the top.
o. Low bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch, large hole in top. Merewether found sarsens inside, with an urn containing burnt human bones. (ref as above, p. 107, No. 31)
p. Here we have the "watershed" of the sarsen stones, whence they stream off into the various valleys.
q. The Ridgeway.

Square 51:
a. "Somewhere in this immediate locality, though I have failed to find it", was 'Old Chapel' as described by Stukeley - a large square enclosure set with large sarsens.
b. Low indistinct bowl-shaped barrow, much cut away and defaced; no ditch.
c. Very low and wide-spreading barrow, not opened.
d. Bowl-shaped barrow, opened at top.
e. Bowl-shaped barrow, opened at top.
f. Deep pit, surrounded with banks, now half filled with sarsens. Probably once a pond barrow.
g. Small faintly-marked enclosure on the brow of the hill, bounded by bank and ditch, with a row of 25 half-buried sarsen stones.
h. Small, very low, bowl-shaped barrow, not opened.
i. Many earthworks - banks and ditches.

Square 52:
a. Large, low and wide circular barrow, almost ploughed out. In 1849 Merewether found a cist of human bones but no urn, also pottery, teeth of red deer and ox, a jet bead and 9 very smooth pebbles, probably for slinging.
b. A large barrow, almost ploughed out.

e. Three large sarsen stones that seem to mark some burial or monument.

Square 53:
a. Large high bowl-shaped barrow with no ditch, opened in 5 or 6 places.
b. Large and high bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch. Merewether found bones, teeth, burnt wood and a cist formed in the natural chalk. It contained burnt human bones, pieces of bronze and worked flints. Reported in "Proceedings of Archaeological Institute, Salisbury volume", p. 83, No. 3.
c. Very tall large bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch. Merewether found an urn filled with burnt human bones.
d. Very large, high, bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch. Opened.
e. Large and high bowl-shaped barrow, no ditch. Merewether found nothing but the burnt bones of several people, deposited in a cist in the natural chalk, with no pottery. They were covered with a black substance like powdered charcoal.
f. Bowl-shaped barrow, surrounded with stones; no ditch, opened at top.
g. Very low barrow, almost invisible.
h. Very low barrow, almost obliterated.
i. Large spreading flat barrow, opened at top. Merewether found an urn containing the bones of a young child; in the surrounding rubble were deer's ribs. Below this was the crouched skeleton of an adult.
k. A very low barrow, very indistinct.
l. A barrow like the last. Dug by Merewether in 1849. He found much pottery, mostly of unusually high quality and "turned on the lathe". Below it were sarsen stones, covering 2 small cists containing a few burnt human bones. Assumed to be Roman-British, as several iron nails were found, with Roman coins. (ref as above, pp. 86, 87, No. 10)
m. Large but not high bowl-shaped barrow, opened at top. Probably No. 8 described by Merewether in 1849; found bones and pottery covered with sarsens. Below was a cist with burnt bones but no urn. (ref as above, p. 85, No. 8)
n. Bowl-shaped barrow with a stone on the top and surrounded by sarsens, no ditch.
o. Large flat wide barrow with ditch. Merewether found the remains of an urn, then a cist with charcoal and burnt bones. There was another cist, covered with a sarsen, containing "an unusual quantity of burnt bones".
p. A small, indistinct barrow.
q. Bowl-shaped barrow, half-destroyed. Merewether found the remains of an urn and an oval cist formed in the chalk, containing Burnt human bones, black sooty dust and pieces of bones, deer teeth and pottery.
r. Earthworks - banks and ditches.
s. Seven sarsen stones piled on one another, surrounded with the remains of an earthen mound. "There is little doubt that this was once a cromlech."
t. The Ridgeway.

Square 54:
a. A very low, indistinct barrow.
b. Another low barrow, almost disappeared.
c. Third barrow of the same group, equally low.
d. Small flat barrow, apparently not opened.
e. Very curious square pit (not a pond).
f. The Ridgeway

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