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Around barrow is a type oftumulus 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.[citation needed]
In Britain, most of them were built between 2200BC and 1100BC.[1] This was the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age. Later Iron Age barrows were mostly different, and sometimes square.[2]
At its simplest, a round barrow is a hemispherical mound of earth and/or stone raised over a burial placed in the middle. Beyond this there are numerous variations which may employ surrounding ditches, stonekerbs or flatberms between ditch and mound. Construction methods range from a single creation process of heaped material to a complex depositional sequence involving alternating layers of stone, soil andturf with timbers orwattle used to help hold the structure together.
The center may be placed a stone chamber orcist or in a cut grave. Both intactinhumations andcremations placed in vessels can be found.
Many round barrows attract surrounding satellite burials or later ones inserted into the mound itself. In some cases these occur hundreds or even thousands of years after the original barrow was built and were placed by entirely differentcultures.
Numerous subtypes include thebell barrow,bowl barrow,saucer barrow anddisc barrow.
Denmark has many tumuli, including round barrows. The round barrows here were built over a very broad span of time and culture, from theNeolithic Stone Age to theViking Age. They show a large variation of construction design while sharing a common exterior look.[3] Tumuli were protected by law in 1937.
In Britain round barrows generally date to theEarly Bronze Age althoughNeolithic examples are also known. Later round barrows were also sometimes used byRoman,Viking andSaxon societies. Examples includeRillaton barrow andRound Loaf. Where several contemporary round barrows are grouped together, the area is referred to as abarrow cemetery.
Media related toRound barrows at Wikimedia Commons
