<< Books/Products >> Book Review: Of Mounds & Men, Prehistoric Barrows of the Frome Area - Mick Davis
Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 06 July 2020 Page Views: 5380
ReviewsCountry: England County: Somerset Type: Long BarrowInternal Links:
Book Review: Of Mounds & Men, Prehistoric Barrows of the Frome Area by Mick Davis. I met the author at the talk I gave in Frome last year. Mick had left a copy of the draft section about the Fromefield barrow at the bookshop for me to pick up and very intriguing it was, and is.The book starts with a primer to this period of prehistory for those new to the subject, which is all done clearly and well, followed by an introduction to many of the characters involved in investigating Somerset barrows through the years, from the obligatory Aubrey and Stukeley, to Leslie Grinsell and less well known figures like the Revd John Skinner (of whom more later) and the Vatchers (see comment below), who worked for the old Ministry of Works, gamely dealing with passive aggressive contractors and landowners wanting to get on with building their 1960s housing estates. This was before rescue archaeology had any status in law and when our existing built heritage was so under-appreciated and prone to being flattened by some carbuncle or other.
As mentioned , the first and most intriguing one - that got Mick into this quest, is the Fromefield barrow, about a mile from the centre of the town.
I had a lovely welcome in Frome and stayed the night after my talk. By luck Fromefield was on the walk back to the station from the hotel - I'm generally too tight/poor to pay for taxis - so I got a bit of time to explore the area.
This site has been the source of much confusion, including, amazingly, the 'accidental’ scheduling of some medium sized monoliths by the side of a nearby driveway, and then de-scheduling when the mistake was realised! I managed to find these on my visit thanks to Mick's notes, and had a chat with the owner who kindly allowed me to have a look.
The source of these stones is a bit of a mystery, to me they don't really pass the 'gnarly and old prehistoric monument test' but possibly they were once part of the barrow.
The actual location of the barrow is a couple hundred yards away from the stones, now under a modern house, with really nothing to show for itself sadly. There has been a modern geophysical survey in the nearby gardens, thanks to the whizzes at Bath and Counties Archaeological Society, which led to a small recent excavation by Dr Jodie Lewis, Mick and others. This was cut frustratingly short when they hit buried asbestos, meaning the investigation of the most promising area had to be called off... The Fromefield long barrow was excavated by the Vatchers in the 1960s before the construction of houses on the site - outrageously the landowner was angling for compensation for the delay caused by the small amount of rescue archaeology. He was sent packing on this but nevertheless the long barrow only really got a few days of emergency rescue excavation - not that there was much left after the flattening it was subjected to in 1820 as part of a garden redesign. Mick's book reports hints of 'skeletons' from the diary of a young girl which is now lost, and the 60s dig did find deposits of human bone, which have been re-analysed for the book by renowned osteoarchaeologist Jacki McKinley. Her full report is included as an appendix and makes for interesting reading.
As Mick sums up, it would have been better if those notorious early barrow diggers had got their hands (or rather those of their paid navvies) on Fromefield barrow as they had with so many other great barrows. At least then we might have some brief notes and sketches of findings. As it is they missed it and it became destined to obscurity.
For the rest of the book, Mick covers pretty much every known barrow location in this part of Somerset - we get a detailed look at the county's most famous, Stoney Littleton, followed by the enigmatic but ultimately disappointing Orchardleigh Stones and my personal favourite, the Devil's Bed and Bolster, complete with its bonkers folklore about the weather.
Then on to dozens more obscure barrow sites, most of which have little left to show for themselves apart from a ploughed out mound, or a corner of a still pleasant field. To me these spots are still interesting to read about and contemplate a visit, to try to put yourself in the place of the prehistoric builders and why they sited their monuments where they did.
What really stands out is the reproduction of many evocative sketches by the Revd Skinner and the inclusion of his contemporaneous notes, with comment and interpretation by Mick.
My only negative comment is - why no overview map! Really this would have been so insightful to get a feel for the locations, even if just dots on a county outline.
Anyway I've created a map of the sites in the book using the Megalithic Portal's visit log system. I had to add the location of a few barrows but we now have better coverage of the area thanks to Mick's research. [Note I've not actually visited all these sites - I had to put that to make the visit log work!]
It's refreshing to find a book covering such obscure sites in detail, giving new access to archive material normally tucked away in museums. If you're up for a trip to Frome, live nearby, or want an armchair investigation then this is the book for you and a bargain at just £12.
Review by Andy B
Of Mounds & Men, Prehistoric Barrows of the Frome Area by Mick Davis
Published by the Frome Society for Local Study, June 2020
Price £12 + p&p. Paperback, 137 pages, 16 x 24 cm. ISBN: 1961264700
Available by post from the Frome Society for Local Study 01373 836 595 email: [email protected] or The Hunting Raven Bookshop in Cheap St Frome. 01373 473111 or follow the links of course. You could pay extra to get a copy from Amazon but it would be better to support the above local organisations.
<< Northern Earth Special May 2020 Issue - Free / Open Access
Book Review: Indonesian Megaliths: A forgotten cultural heritage, Tara Steimer >>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.