New discoveries about Thetford Forest burial mound

Archaeologists recently completed new studies of the Bronze Age bell barrow at White Hill, near Brandon, in Thetford Forest.

The team from Historic England conducted surveys of the mound, using ground penetrating radar and electrical resistance tests to make new discoveries about the monument.

Bell barrows are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC.

They are rare, with fewer than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex, so are considered of national importance.

The three metre high one at White Hill, measuring 75 metres by 57 metres, is considered by Historic England as being of "extraordinary size".

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A forest track has been cut through part of the monument, which also features a berm of up to 22 metres wide and a ditch, which has been partly filled in.

From their studies archaeologists found that, while the barrow is visible as a large oval earthen mound, it may actually have been diamond-shaped.

An image of White Hill captured using LiDAR - laser mapping technology (Image: Crown Copyright - Forest Research)

In their report, they said: "The geophysical surveys, particularly the earth resistance coverage, suggest the form of White Hill is of an asymmetrical diamond shape that is partially obscured within the current topographic expression.

"While the monument as a whole appears to take on a diamond-like rather than rounded form, the north-eastern half seems to have more clearly defined edges, while the changes between the barrow features are less distinct in the south-west."

The team said it was not possible to determine if that diamond shape was how the mound was originally constructed or whether it was down to later changes, either natural or intentional.

The team of Megan Clements, Neil Linford, Paul Linford, Andrew Payne and Nathalie Barrett also recently studied another Thetford Forest barrow site at Blood Hill.

Blood Hill (Image: Neil Linford / Historic England) They found that lozenge-shaped burial mound, between Lynford and Thetford, was probably originally higher and covered an earlier circular barrow mound.