Low Hill is an unassuming yet fascinating feature of Fen Drayton Lakes. It lies within Elney Lake (historically known as Low Fen), on a peninsula which protrudes in from the western side. For most people visiting, it merely looks like a raised mound with a margin of reeds and is covered in grass, but that belies the history that lies underneath.
Until recently we didn’t know much about it but learned more thanks to the work of a student, James Foard, who brought together literature from various sources during his studies and shared them with us.
Low Hill is a type of ‘bowl barrow’ or tumulus, a mound of earthen construction about 25m in diameter by 1m high. Barrows were sites where burials were made. These were sometimes for just one person or multiple people. Burial mounds were often built on higher ground so their cultural significance would be visible to people. Finding higher ground is a tricky ask in the fens as there are few areas with suitable topography, so this early example was built up artificially to raise it above the level of the floodplain.
Due to the shape and structure of the barrow, it is thought to pre-date the Romans and is suspected to be from the Bronze Age. Barrows from this period are rare features within Cambridgeshire and this one represents an excellent example, being of a large size and well preserved.
However, there are some unknowns as to what else very early examples may have been used for since. Within the Ouse Valley, two thirds of barrows have found to be either reused, modified or incorporated into other monuments over time.
The site has never been excavated so these facets of its history can only be alluded to, based on similar sites elsewhere. Thus, what is known about Low Hill is not a complete picture and one which likely has more stories to tell. In the eyes of James, it stands “as a monument to the people that have lived and died here throughout prehistory and their lost funerary traditions and ritual practices”.
The barrow from the air
When the area was dug out for gravel in the 1990s, Low Hill was preserved. We maintain the monument nowadays by making sure scrub and trees don’t take over and affect the archaeology within. It is a great corner for wildlife, and we have even found Harvest Mouse nests in the grass there. Over time we plan to make more of it by installing an information board at the viewpoint by the guided busway.
Henry Cook Assistant Warden – Fen Drayton Lakes