A disc barrow is a type of

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

, a variety of

fancy barrow A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bui ...

identified in

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

Monument Class Description A Monument Class Description provides a synthesis and summary of the archaeology, archaeological evidence for a particular type of United Kingdom, British ancient monument. The Monument Class Descriptions were created by English Heritage as part of ...

s. A disc barrow comprises a circular or oval-shaped flat platform, defined by a continuous earthen bank and inner ditch; sometimes the platform is raised above the surrounding ground level. On the platform there are one or more small mounds covering human burials deposited in

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...

s or grave-pits. It is possible for disc barrows to be confused with a wide-bermed bell barrow; the distinguishing characteristic here is the presence of a platform supporting the small barrow mound and the continuous bank around the outside of the barrow ditch. Disc barrows are a relatively rare kind of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

burial mound, generally located in the

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

area of southern England. In common with other contemporary round barrows they are regarded as being the burial monuments of important people; it has been suggested that the Wessex disc barrows were the burial places of important females, although this is based on the analysis of a very small number of cremation deposits and assumptions about the ownership of the main kinds of grave goods recovered. The 18th century

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

William Stukeley William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...

referred to this type of barrow as a druid barrow, a practice that was continued by

Richard Colt Hoare Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838) was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home ...

in the early 19th century, even though he did not subscribe to the idea that their creation had any connection with

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

Notable examples of disc barrows in southern England

* The Flowerdown disc barrow at Littleton, near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, is described as an "exceptionally fine example" of this type of ancient monument. * On Setley Plain, near

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

, there are a pair of overlapping disc barrows which survive in particularly fine condition, and are one of only two known pairs of overlapping barrows of this type in England. * There are at least five disc barrows in Oakley Down Barrow Cemetery, near

Sixpenny Handley Sixpenny Handley or Handley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge, in north east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase ten miles (16 km) north east of Blandford Forum. In the 2 ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. One of these disc barrows is cut on the south-east side by the

Ackling Dyke Ackling Dyke is a section of Roman road in England which runs for southwest from Old Sarum (''Sorviodunum'') to the hill fort at Badbury Rings (''Vindocladia''). Part of the road on Oakley Down has been scheduled as an ancient monument. Much ...

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

,English Heritage National Monuments Record: monument no. 1312437
which led early antiquarians such as

to conclude that the barrows were a pre-Roman feature. * The Upwey disc barrow at map reference {{gbmappingsmall, SY 663866 located on the Ridgeway above the district of Upwey, Weymouth, Dorset; is a very fine and large example of this type of barrow. It has an exceptionally big centre mound.

References

Bronze Age Britain Types of monuments and memorials Barrows in England