I have to admit I didn't realise at the time this was a barrow despite standing on top of it! I thought it was just a 'mound' - although I did wonder why there was a mound when all is flat around? Now I know!
Had a good look for this tumulus when visiting Uffington Castle this afternoon.
Although it is clearly marked on the O.S. map between the hillfort and the white horse, finding it on the ground was a little disappointing.
Standing less than a meter high, the barrow is easily missed when walking north towards the white horse, and even when identified, didn't seem to amount to much. All I can say is that its position on the crest of the hill was probably pronounced when first constructed.
This round barrow was excavated by Martin-Atkins in 1857 who reported finding 9 skeletons. The 1993 dig found sherds of Bronze Age pottery and, a more recent internment, a book entitled 'Demonology and Witchcraft' by Walter Scott and published in 1831. The inside cover was daubed with red ink and inscribed with the words 'Demon de Uffing'. Some damage to the book was evident, although it was reported that the book was in generally good condition. (the reason for this is given as the chalk soil mix).
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'The excavator was confident that the ground around the location of the book's burial had not been recently disturbed, and therefore a pre-excavation joke by persons unknown was ruled out. In theory the book could have been deposited during the 19th-century excavations, but it is more likely that its burial is related to one of the more recent revivals in the mystical aspects of the White Horse and its surroundings.' - Alan Hardy
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