Cotswold Archaeology provided updated details on what has been discovered at the Netherhampton Road excavation site via a webinar.

In November 2022, numerous round barrows were found on a site being prepared as a housing development off of Netherhampton Road on the edge of Harnham. Many of the barrows were organised into three large ring ditches. No bones were found within the ring ditches, but human remains were found in other isolated barrows scattered throughout the site.

Materials, artefacts and remains of varying age, ranging from the Iron Age to the Anglo-Saxon period, were discovered. Archaeologists believe the oldest barrow in the cemetery may be of Neolithic origin, although it’s uncertain. The round barrows have been flattened to varying degrees from agricultural activity in the area over thousands of years.

Steve Bush of Cotswold Archaeology’s Andover office told the online audience on Wednesday, July 19: “We’re currently ongoing in the actual phase of works and we’re coming to an end of that. This leaves us in a position to be able to discuss what we’ve found on the site and actually give our initial thoughts and findings.”

Steve said the site has many qualities that make it unique, and “is one of the largest, if not the largest, barrow cemetery investigations to happen in the UK in the last 50 or so years.”

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The round barrows discovered included both bowl barrows and the much less common disc barrows. Though disc barrows are most prevalent in Wessex, they are still a rarity.

There is evidence of ongoing prehistoric settlement near the site. Steve said during the early work carried out by Headlands Archaeology a “substantial Iron Age settlement” 185 metres long was uncovered.

Steve said: “As with the four barrows and the crescent hills this will be protected in-situ.

Steve mentioned how the discoveries add to what is known about the rich history of the area.

He said: “The site itself, it sits in an area of very rich prehistoric activity.

“There’s a vast amount of prehistoric monuments all around this landscape.

“What is noted that in this landscape, during the Bronze Age, especially the late Bronze Age going into the early Iron Age, settlement activity in Wiltshire is quite rare to find, which adds a little bit of importance to the site.”

The four barrows will be protected in-situ and no more work will be performed, while other parts of the site will have artefacts and remains lifted and development can take place.