Shortwood mounds

Nearest town:
Stroud (4km SE)
OS reference:
SO829084
OS sheet:
162
Latitude:
51° 46' 24.71 N
Longitude:
2° 14' 52.31 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Shortwood mounds (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

The exposed tops of the mounds are a bit eroded, revealing the limestone composition.

Image credit: A. Brookes (28.11.2021)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Nov 2, 2022
Image of Shortwood mounds (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

A late autumn visit shows off the mounds to better advantage. The views across the Severn to the Forest of Dean are excellent, and the snowy Black Mountains rise above on the right, but very difficult to see in this image.

Image credit: A. Brookes (28.11.2021)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Nov 2, 2022
Image of Shortwood mounds (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

The top of the northeastern mound, the limestone composition showing through.

Image credit: A. Brookes (18.5.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 26, 2019
Image of Shortwood mounds (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

From the northeast. The Severn and Forest of Dean are the backdrop, top right.

Image credit: A. Brookes (18.5.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 26, 2019
Image of Shortwood mounds (Round Barrow(s)) by thesweetcheat

The National Trust are nailing their colours to the “round barrows” mast on their board up at the car park.

Image credit: A. Brookes (18.5.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 26, 2019

Articles

Miscellaneous

Shortwood mounds
Round Barrow(s)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 26, 2019

There’s disagreement as to whether the mounds below the Shortwood toposcope are round barrows, quarry dumps or simply natural features.

The National Trust favour the round barrows option, describing them as “good candidates”:

Two conjoined probable round barrows. Visited with wardening team. The site lie 200m south west of Shortwood 200m south-west and downslope of Shortwood toposcope on the north side of a pathway. From here there is a clear view to the north towards Haresfield Beacon.

SW Mound:

This is a prominent mound estimated as 15m diameter and 2.5m high. A quarry ditch could be traced on all but the norh-east side where it joins the north-east mound. The ditch is 3-5m wide and about 0.5m deep except on the south-east side where it has been backfilled presumably for the pathway but it is vaguely discernable there.

Recent disturbance on the south-west side of the mound top revealed the make-up the mound to be limestone rubble mixed with dark brown humic loam. The hole was c. 1.5m long and 0.5m wide and 0.4m deep.

Light scrub was growing on the SW and NE sides. Ranger David Armstrong agreed to clear this.

These are good candidates for barrows and may be those identified by Ordnance Survey and referred to in 71307.

NE mound:

This is a prominent mound estimated as 15m diameter and 2.5m high. A quarry ditch could be traced on all but the south-west side where it joins the south-west mound. The ditch is 3-5m wide and about 0.5m deep except on the south-east side where it has been backfilled presumably for the pathway.

Light scrub was growing across most of the mound. Ranger David Armstrong agreed to clear this.

The Pastscape record is less promising:

1998 – The site was visited by A Douthwaite of English Heritage as a result of MPP on 19/08/1998. The site was first noted by R. Jowett-Burton in 1931, and was visited by Grinsell in 1960, who assessed the mound to be 11m in diameter and 1m in height. However, Grinsell was uncertain whether the feature represented a barrow, as he had noted the presence of other, natural mounds in the area. During a survey of the Haresfield Beacon Estate in 1995, the mound was not located as the area contains numerous mounds of natural origin and the underlying ground is composed of geologically unstable deposits of landslip and foundered strata. Parry, who undertook the survey, concluded that ‘it would seem highly improbable that round barrows would be present in such a location’. The site was visited under the MPP in August 1998, and although a number of mounds were noted in the location specified, there is no evidence to indicate tht they represent round barrows, and they may be quarry dumps or natural features (pers comm A Douthwaite 19/08/1998).

Either way, they’re big mounds in a lovely location, with views across the Severn towards the Forest of Dean. They are also intervisible with the prominent round barrow on Haresfield Beacon.

Sites within 20km of Shortwood mounds

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