BRONZE AGE SITES AND FINDS
Approx. 2000 - 800 BC
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ACKWOOD LANE
Ackwood Lane ring ditch Grid ref SO 247 648 Small circular ring ditch visible on Aerial Photo no. 96-02-0022-26. Thought to be Bronze Age, judging from its shape SMR ref 34400

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BENBOW WOOD
Benbow Wood Mound. Grid ref SO 281 628 Irregular mound 20m diameter by 1.7m high noted by OS 1981 (whilst looking for PRN 2276). Thought to be a natural feature by OS 1981. Date Unknown, possibly Bronze Age SMR ref 6306

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ROCK WOOD
Rock Wood Barrow Grid ref SO 242 670 Low mound (c.0.5m high) with stones protruding from near top. Diameter c3-4metres. Lies close to bank forming parish boundary. Bronze Age ? SMR ref 21785

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ELVINE'S FARM
Cairn Grid ref SO 287 683 Elvine's Farm Possible Cairn, 3m diameter and 0.1m high with flat stones. Another similar site exists nearby at SO 2873 6835 which is 4m in diameter. They could both be debris piles from clearances. Bronze Age or Post Medieval ? SMR ref 4218

Elvine's Farm Stone Grid ref SO 287 683 A possible standing stone 0.5m high, 0.4m by 0.1m at base. Bronze Age SMR ref 4219

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CWMADE
Cwmade Barrow Grid ref SO 270 641 A grass-covered oval barrow. 10.7m SW-NE by 8.2m SE-NW 0.9m high. The oval shape might be due to plough damage to NW and SE sides. Mentioned by CJ Dunn in 1969 as 6.75 paces in diameter and just under 1 metre high. No visible ditch and denuded by ploughing. Bronze Age SMR ref 295
Cwmade Barrow

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BROADHEATH
Broad Heath enclosure Grid ref SO 342 634 prehistoric occupation. A curving ditch containing a sherd of prehistoric pottery was found just within the boundaries of Broad Heath Roman enclosure, and may have been a drainage ditch associated with an earlier building structure Bronze Age ? SMR ref 72366

Broadheath Ring Ditch Grid ref SO 335 634 Ring ditch 30m dia. Bronze Age SMR ref 5283
Aerial photos of Broadheath. The racecourse can be seen in the lower left of the main picture. The details show two features to the NE, one looks like a round enclosure, the other a sub-rectangular marking. I was unable to match them to the known sites listed above as the GR's do not match.


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AYMESTREY
AYMESTREY SAND PIT BURIAL SITE. Grid ref SO 4290 6630 Finds at Leominster Folk Museum. Child burial descovered in June 1987 during quarrying operations. Presence of a barrow and/or a surrounding ditch could not be determined. Several layers of flagstones covered a stone lined pit tomb with the crouched burial of a child of 7-8 years old within, sex unidentifiable at this young age. The child was interred with a beaker pot of a design found mostly in Northern Britain and flint knife, found beneath the skull. The pit and body were aligned N-S. No trace of surrounding ditch to the cist. The artifacts helped to date the burial to the early Bronze Age.

Axe Findspot. Grid ref SO 3900 6600 Early ribbed palstave from Haven Farm in Hereford Mus. GR to farm.

Round barrow Grid ref SO 4300 6600 A previously unpublished mound, presumably a round barrow, immediately below a track leading from common ground and 50yards from it. Built on a fairly steep slope, it is ovoid, 12 x 9 paces, with height of 3.5'. It has a slight 2 yard wide ditch around it. Both ditch & barrow are damaged by a recent shallow scoop into its western side.

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KNIGHTON
Woodhouse Lane Cropmark Grid ref SO 279 703 Cropmark of 4 concentric circular banks, possibly with ditches. The whole thing is about 70m across. Interpretation uncertain. Bronze Age, or Neolithic SMR ref 5277

Jacket's Well Barrow Grid ref SO 276 717 Barrow uncovered during roadworks in 1935. Primary (inverted urn on oval pit) and secondary (urn rim fragments) burial. No visible remains of site left. Bronze Age SMR ref 1137

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WIGMORE
Barrow Grid ref SO 30 70 Between Wigmore and Leintwardine, located on left hand side of road. NMR archive [Chitty Archive Box 44] mentions oral tradition of excavation c1862? [Possibly SO 37 SE 25 or 38?] Probably Bronze Age. EHNMR ref 645486

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BUCKNELL
Ring Ditch W of Bucknell Vicarage Grid ref SO 353 734, SO 353 734 (1 of 2) Aerial photographs show two cropmark ring ditches [see also PRN 04176] immediately west of Bucknell Vicarage. Bronze Age SMR ref 5087

Flint Finds Bucknell Field Grid ref SO 3537 7370 Flint implements, 100-200 flints have been found, including a petit tranchet arrowhead. Miss Chitty's siting falls within the new playground of Bucknell school and Bird's within an arable field, close to a footpath. Finds from this site in Clun Museum include a collection of unsorted flints, mostly wasters and a selection of Mesolithic worked flints, including a petit tranchet arrowhead, an awl and 3 scrapers. Also two micro cores, both single platform pyramidal type: one broken microlith, numerous waste flakes and several other shaped pieces, one thought to be part of a tool probably Mesolithic. The collection of finds is probably the waste material from a chipping floor, suggesting some prehistoric industry, but without a single clearly recognisable implement among them.OS FI 1973. Fairly large collection. Early Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age, SMR ref 8848/9

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BRAMPTON BRYAN
Palstave Grid ref SO 3600 7200 between Brampton Bryan and Brandon Camp. A bronze palstave, exhibited in the temp museum at Ludlow, found in 1852, by one Richard Price. Bronze Age Axe

Small ring ditch Grid ref SO 3700 7200 A small double ditched ring ditch can be seen just to the south east of SMR 31017 adjacent to the hedge boundary. Bronze Age

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BUCKTON / COXALL
Find of Bronze Age Spearhead in a field near Coxall Knoll Grid ref SO 360 730 Mr RA Banks of Kington exhibited to Cambrian Arch Assoc in 1958 bronzes collected by the Banks family including a worn, plain spearhead, with broken socket described as Early British Spearhead. Ploughed up in a field near Caractus' Camp in December 1912. Whether camp referred to is Coxall Knoll (often connected by tradition with Caradoc) or Caer Caradoc nearer to Clun, is quite uncertain. Bronze Age SMR ref 8125

Round Barrow Grid ref SO 3900 7300 NE of Buckton Park Farm. The mound is of irrengular form, flattened on one side. It is 71 yards x 43 yards and rises about 9.5' above the surrounding ground. There are traces of a ditch on the W and S but according to the OS these are not tumuli but glacial fluvial deposits. This monument was descheduled on 22 August 1996 Bronze Age

Palstave Grid ref SO 3800 7400 'Ardley Moor'. Palstave of early type, curving bar ridge and slight shoulders - in the British Museum (73.7.2) labelled as found 'Ardley Moor, Bucknell 1868', they probably mean Adley Moor. Bronze Age Axe

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KINGSLAND
Lawton Cross Barrow Grid ref SO 4300 5900 A subtle mound approximately 50m to the south east of the present cross roads is a possible site of a barrow. The feature is approximately 30m in diameter and rises to a maximum height of 0.6m above the present ground surface. Its southern side has been truncated by the cutting of an artificial stream course. Probably Bronze Age

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KINGTON
Bronze Age stone axe hammer Grid ref SO 2900 5600 Kington churchyard. Bronze Age stone axe hammer found in Kington churchyard, possibly by someone grave-digging? Now in Hereford City Museum 3409.

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KINSHAM
Bowl barrow I Grid ref SO 3600 6300 S of Lower Court, Kinsham. Circular mound c2m high & c40m dia. at base. As described looks like a barrow but situation on flood plain makes this unlikely, may be natural. Field called the Cotts. Mound still there (about 4' high), unlikely to be ploughed, meadowland. Scheduled 1995. Bronze Age Round Barrow


Kinsham barrow I

Bowl barrow II Grid ref SO 3500 6400 SW of Lower Court, Kinsham in field called the Hommes. Circular mound c1m high & C 30m diam at base. Looks like a barrow but like barrow I its situation on the flood plain makes this unlikely and it may well be a natural feature. Slowly being ploughed out, though still visible. Scheduled 1995.

Round barrow Grid ref SO 3400 6400 Kinsham Bronze Age round barrow ? 40' in diam rising 8' above a surrounding ditch 6.75' deep. Noted in records but possibly confused with above barrows with wrong GR. Not checked in field. Slight cropmarks, part enclosure in SW corner of field. Enclosure on S side towards E end of field & small rect enclosure about quarter away to E of W boundary & about third of way to N. Very slight rise in GR given for barrow, but nothing definite. Bronze Age Round Barrow? Undated Enclosure

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LEINTWARDINE
Palstave Grid ref SO 4000 7400 An early ribbed palstave from the Leintwardine area is in Ludlow Museum. Donated by the Misses Harris. No further details. Bronze Age Axe

Round Barrow Grid ref SO 4000 7400 NE of church, Leintwardine. Bronze Age?

N of leintwardine, Broadward Hoard. Two to three hundred bronze spearheads, plus a few ferrules, sword fragments and miscellaneous pieces were found in a field called Little Moor on 30 July 1867. Also found were numerous animal bones and a Romano-British lattice decorated pot. A second discovery, possibly part of the same hoard, may have been made sometime before 1912-13. The chief feature of the hoard are the barbed spearheads which are seen as a Late Bronze Age development of the Wilburton complex of SE England. It is thought that they were merely ceremonial in function. A Miss E A Overton of Leintwardine had a bronze spearhead but it appears that she left the district many years ago. Presented to the British Museum by Sir A W Franks. Bronze Age

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LYONSHALL
Bronze palstave and spearhead Grid ref SO 3500 5500 A bronze palstave and spearhead were found by a metal detectorist in 2000 according to the landowner. SMR marks this find as being in Pembridge but the GR is nearer to Lyonshall.

Late Bronze Age dagger Grid ref SO 3200 5500 Lower Fishpool, Lynhales. Late Bronze Age dagger or knife found near Lower Fish Pool Lyonshall by local resident. Implement now in Hereford Museum (pictured below. Ruler is 15cms - actual length approx. 25cms)

Lyonshall BA Dagger
Photos kindly supplied by Hereford Museum.

Copyright Herefordshire Heritage Services (Hereford Museum and Art Gallery)

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MILTON CROSS
Ring ditch Grid ref SO 3800 5900 nr Rowe Ditch. One or perhaps two ring ditches to E of Rowe Ditch. Likely to be Bronze Age.

Ring ditch and mill leat Grid ref SO 3700 5900 Bronze Age Ring ditch and post-medieval mill leat (associated with mill at The Leen).

Bronze Age Cemetery. Grid ref SO 3800 6000 S of Milton Cross. A group of low mounds in ploughed fields to S of Milton Crossroads just to E of Rowe ditch. (I)Circular 106' diam and 4' high. (2) 83' across, 5' in height. all 3 have gently rounded profiles and lie in a straight line strongly suggesting a group of round barrows. RAF Aerial Photo of 1959 shows presence of dark semicircular band around southern half of mound (3) suggesting a ditch. See also STAUNTON



Milton Cross Barrows

As part of the Arrow Valley Project in 2003 this area was looked at in some detail with several excavations. The area around Rowe Ditch, which runs S from Milton Cross is reported to contain numerous Ring Ditches (ploughed out burial mounds). These are often arranged in groups and strongly add to the evidence of there being a Bronze Age Cemetery here. Two Ring Ditches were excavated near The Leen which produced evidence of sites overlaying each other from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, although no artifacts were unearthed to confirm dates. In the upper layers of the 'fill' of these ditches abraded pottery sherds dating to the Roman period suggested later floods depositing fragments here from a settlement or farmstead close by.
A full report has recently been published by Herefordshire Archaeology. For details see the bibliography section.

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RODD
Flints Grid ref SO 3200 6100 S of Rodd Wood. Rough convex scraper of black flint with cortex, found in 1957. Bronze Age Implement

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STAUNTON
Barrows numbers 4 and 5 of the Milton Cross barrow cemetery Grid ref SO 3800 6000 Another two earthwork barrows in addition to the three already recorded was noted in the field. Worked flints were noted on the surfaces of the barrows. Bronze Age (see also Milton Cross)

Linear feature adjacent to Milton Cross Barrow Cemetery Grid ref SO 3850 6027 To the south of the barrow cemetery a linear earthwork feature can be seen in the field. It appears to curve to the west suggesting that it is some sort of enclosure. Likely to be Bronze Age

Upper Headlands Excavation. In May 2003 an excavation was carried out as part of the Arrow Valley Project in a field next to the river to the S of the village. Aerial photos had revealed a double ditch system which was thought to be part of an enclosure. During a ground survey the ditches were found to intersect a mysterious linear feature. Amongst the finds retreived from the 'fill' of this were fragments of 'Beaker' pottery from the early Bronze Age, which by their presence above the original ditch bottom would indicate that the linear feature itself was likely to be a Neolithic earthwork. The pottery also suggested a continuation of habitation or site usage well through into the Bronze Age. The double ditches themselves appeared to be even later, probably Iron Age.
Another possible view of these finds is that they were deliberately placed here as votive offerings as most surviving Neolithic and Bronze Age sites are funerary in character and the presence nearby of the Milton Cross Cemetery from the Bronze Age would support the idea of this being a ritual site.
A full report has recently been published by Herefordshire Archaeology. For details see the bibliography section.

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TITLEY
Barrow Grid ref SO 3200 5800 Hitherto unpublished barrow, c 7yds in diam, encircled by ditch 2 yds wide has been found at Titley. 2 feet high with slight dishing in top. Ditch slightly damaged by C18 irrigation channel, otherwise in very good condition. Bronze Age
This picture shows a cropmarked mound in a field directly NW of Shawl farm. I do not think that this is the barrow mentioned above because there is no sign of an irrigation channel nor of a surrounding ditch.


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WALFORD
Bronze Age Spearhead Grid ref SO 3900 7200 Bronze Spearhead, prob from the barrow. No further details

Round Barrow known as 'Harris' Tump, 500 yds W of Walford Farm Grid ref SO 3800 7200 Mound 56' in diam at base and about 3'. Probably tumulus referred to in a Ms account of discovery of urn containing human bones on 8.2.1736. Roy notes 'urns found in this tumulus'. Vase like vessel of Roman form, with beaded moulding around the swelling portion and around base, but otherwise plain and without ornament. Height 18", diameter at mouth 6", widest part 14" and base 12". The tump is almost certainly a tumulus & is prob the site reported in Arch Camb 1874 where a vessel of poss Roman form was discovered. Bronze Age Round Barrow
'Harris' Tump
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COMBE
Henge site? Grid ref SO 348 634. Marked on OS as a motte, this site has been the subject of some debate. Although there are documentary references to a knight called John de la Combe in the 13th century who some contend may have had a castle built here, the circular ditch near combe could well date from a much earlier period. Its siting on the flood plain of the River Lugg near its confluence with Hindwell Brook, whilst being a little dubious for a castle or fortified house site, fits better with a Bronze Age henge, palisade or other circular enclosure as confluences appear to have been important ritualistic sites in that period. Also the presence of standing stones very nearby at Combe Moor and across the river at Kinsham, plus a group of three possible Round Barrows there, add to the theory that this may have been part of a ritual site from the Bronze Age.
Combe site
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