MSO6798 - Bronze Age barrow on Horsen Hill (Monument)

[SS 7891 3560] Tumulus (NR) [1] SS 7891 3560 Bowl barrow, 25 paces in diameter and 1.2 metres high with a slight hollow in the centre (Exmoor 19). and surmounted by an Ordnance Survey trig point. [2,3] This is a bowl barrow and is as described by Grinsell [3]. Published survey (1/2500) revised. [6] Exmoor 19. A bowl barrow is listed, details as [3] above. Visited by Grinsell 27th Sept 1961. This is part of group known as "Sherdon Barrows" (together with MSO6799) and was so called in Chase records of 1794 and 1819. [7] A barrow, centred at SS 7891 3560, is located on the summit of Horsen Hill. It consists of a grass and reed covered circular stony mound 22 to 25 metres in diameter (with a summit diameter of 13 to 14.5 metres) and 1.3 metres high. Traces of an encircling ditch, 4 metres wide and 0.2 metres deep, are visible especially on the northern side. A trench, 3 metres wide and 0.4 metres deep, has been cut into the west and east slopes of the barrow. The summit is hollowed, leaving a rim of material around the crests of the barrow scarp. In addition, a narrow, zig-zagging slot, 2 metres wide and 0.3 metres deep has been cut into the summit within the hollowed area. It is clear that these features represent a combination of excavation and stone robbing, and although superficially disturbed, it is proabable that most of the fabric of the barrow remains intact. Further slight erosion is occuring in the form of sheep scrapes on the mound. [8,9] The barrow described above is clearly visible on aerial photographs close to the summit of Horsen Hill. Several other barrows have been identified in the area (see MSO7051, MMO457 and MSO6799). [11] No further information. [12] A large, circular mound 25m in diameter and 1.3m high lies on the summit of Horsen Hill. Slight traces of a ditch are visible to the north of the mound. This is a reed filled hollow, 4m wide and less than 0.25m deep. This is one of three Bronze Age funerary monuments on the summit of Horsen Hill. A rectangular trench cut into the western side of the barrow is the remains of an unrecorded excavation. [13] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [14] The site is depicted on the 2021 MasterMap data. [15]