KM 



cites on UofeTs Jjrawfo. 



By Me. Cunnington, F.G.S. 



OWL'S — Bole's Barrow, or, as it is sometimes called, 



of the county. The origin of the name is not known. Canon 

 Jackson informs us that "it does not occur in Wilts, except in the 

 case of 'Don Bowie/ of Idmiston, who was a learned man, and 

 F.S.A. ; but there is no information connecting him with property in 

 the Heytesbury neighbourhood " ; nor do the deeds in the possession 

 of the present owner of the property, Lord Heytesbury, throw any 

 light on the subject. It is called " Bowls Barrow " in Andrew and 

 Dury's large map of Wilts, date 1773, and this is probably the 

 earliest printed notice of the name. 



Like the other long barrows of the county, it is situate on very 

 high ground, commanding a most extensive and characteristic view 

 of this great chalk range. In consequence of the prominence of 

 the position it is often chosen as a place of meeting for the hounds. 



The first account of the barrow occurs in a letter addressed by 

 Mr. Cunnington, F.S.A., to H. P. Wyndham, Esq., M.P. for 

 Salisbury, dated Heytesbury, July 13th, 1801. Of this an abstract 

 appears in " Ancient Wiltshire," I., 87, as follows : — " The length 

 of this large tumulus is one hundred and fifty feet at the base ; its 

 width ninety-four feet (including the ditches on both sides) , and its 

 elevation ten feet and a half, though ib appears to the eye much 

 higher ; the broad end points towards the east. It was opened by 

 Mr. Cunnington in 1801, and attended with much labour. He 

 began by making a section of considerable width and length across 

 the barrow, near the east end. The interior parts of the barrow 

 were composed entirely of white marl stone to the depth of four feet 

 and a half : this was succeeded by a ridge of large (sarsen) stones 

 and flints, which extended wider as the men worked downwards. 

 At the depth of ten feet and a half, which was the base of the 



Bowlsbury, does not occupy a place in the early history 



