Mill Hill Round Barrow(s) View all content for Mill Hill

This is an odd one – perched on top of a 30 foot chalk quarry face on the edge of a nature reserve. The quarry was once the site of chalk extraction, which was then burned to make agricultural lime and it was while digging around the base of the barrow in the early 20th century that a grave containing a crouched skeleton and a beaker pot was discovered. It is said that the pot (later dated to around 1600BC) rolled down the chalk face and was damaged while the unfortunate occupant of the grave later received a burial in the local churchyard. I don't know why the quarrymen didn't continue digging away at the barrow but I would hazard a guess that they didn't want to disturb any more bodies. What's left of the barrow now measures about 15 metres in diameter, stands a metre tall and is situated on a northwest-southeast spur of land overlooking the valley of Burlands Beck. This same spur is also the location of the Deadmen's Grave long barrows about 500 metres to the northwest.

Posted by Chris Collyer 29th July 2006ce

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