MDE1261 - Bronze Age barrow or cairn on Hoccombe Hill (Monument)

Hoccombe Hill. SS 7811 4387, a possible bowl barrow found by Whybrow in May 1964, 14 paces in diameter and 1 1/2 feet high. [1] No evidence of a barrow could be found on Hoccombe Hill, an area of open peaty moorland. [2] The exsitance of the barrow was confirmed, it is sited further south than Whybrow claimed. It is a stony round barrow, 8 paces in diameter. [3] There is no trace of the barrow referred to by [1] at the national grid reference cited. However, some 150 metres to the south-south-west, at SS 7817 4374, is a turf covered stony mound, which is probably the recorded feature. It is well defined, being 7.3 metres in diameter and 0.6 metres high, and lies in a prominent location on the southern crest of Hoccombe Hill. It is on the north edge of an area of reeds, and has been damaged by trampling and puddling on its southern side, where there is also a spread of loose stone: this damage appears to be ongoing. A sub rectangular hollow has been dug into the summit of the mound, and the spoil from it thrown out onto the crest of the barrow on its north side. The hollow could have been caused by robbing or excavation, but is most likely to be associated with military activity in the area during World War Two. Surveyed at 1:2500 scale. [4] The barrow described above is visible on aerial photographs as a sub-circular mound at SS 7817 4374, measuring approximately 7 metres in diameter. It lies within the Exmoor Firing Range, and numerous impact craters can be seen in the vicinity, presumably associated with Second World War training activity. It seems likely that this activity will have damaged the monument. [5,6] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [7] The feature is recorded at SS 7818 4374 and is labelled "Cairn" on 2021 MasterMap data. [8]