GM262

Round Barrows NE of Church Farm  

04/03/1959  

Designated  

Vale of Glamorgan  

St. Donats  

292203  

170670  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

Round Barrow  

Prehistoric  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of two earthen built round barrows, which probably date to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC). Barrow A - This barrow is the most northerly and measures c. 0.6m high, the diameter being impossible to determine. It was excavated in 2006 by the Glamorgan & Gwent Archaeological Trust. Archaeological deposits were encountered directly beneath the plough soil. Two damaged cremation burials in funerary urns were located very close to the surface. At the northern end of the barrow the presence of a rock-cut ditch was identified cut through the Lias bedrock, 1.4m wide and 1m in depth with near vertical sides. Barrow B - This barrow is the most southerly and is very spread - the diameter being impossible to determine. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric burial and ritual practices. The features are an important relic of a prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape and retain significant archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of both intact ritual and burial deposits, together with environmental and structural evidence. Barrows may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.