Abell barrow, sometimes referred to as aWessex type barrow,campanulate form barrow, or abermed barrow, is a type oftumulus identified as such by bothJohn Aubrey andWilliam Stukeley.
In the United Kingdom, they take the form of a circular mound or mounds within a circular ditch, the mounds being separated from the ditch and each other by aberm. There is sometimes present an additional bank, external to the ditch. The ditch is typically the source of the material used to create the mound and is therefore described as a "quarry-ditch". A burial pit beneath the mound usually contains human remains, sometimes cremated, sometimes simply interred. Grave goods such as daggers or pottery vessels are commonly found within the burial pit also. An example atSutton Veny included a bronze-age wooden coffin.[1] The bell barrow inMilton Lilbourne inWiltshire has no burial associated with it.[2] Most bell barrows in the United Kingdom date to the earlyBronze Age.
Leslie Grinsell constructed atypology for bell barrows:
